Things I Did Before
by don't fight it
Summary: Paul's made mistakes. He knows he has. Or at least he does now. Now that he's got a girl on his back.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hey. Here's a new story for you all. Just so you know, it's set before Paul has phased for the first time. Enjoy! And review!**

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**Things I Did Before: A Paul Imprint Story**

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**Chapter One**

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Lucia's POV

*

Okay, I admit it. I'm really nervous to be back in La Push. Last time I was here, I was just the loser, baldy, white kid.

*

Let me explain. When I was younger, I had cancer, and because of the treatment I was getting, my hair fell out. I won't lie; it wasn't pretty. I got teased a lot; which was part of the reason why my family and I moved away from our family home. The other reason was that my father found out about this treatment that was available in England. So we went there. Now, I'm all better. And I'm back in La Push for my junior year. That means, I'm back with all the kids who teased me.

*

They probably won't recognise me though, that's the good part. See, they'll just remember me as the little bald girl. Now, I'm all grown up. I've got long hair, which I love. Long and black, with a straight fringe, and blue streaks. I'm a little above average height, and I'm pretty slim. I used to be bald, and a little chubby. But that was before I started getting the treatment that saved me.

*

I was currently unpacking my stuff in my bedroom. It took me a couple of hours, and then I went downstairs for dinner. My parents and my older brother were sitting around the table already. I took a seat, across from my brother. On the plate in front of me was a piece of roast lamb, and some vegetables. I ate the vegetables first. The table was silent, until my unusually cheerful mother spoke up.

"Isn't it wonderful to be back?" She said. My father nodded, smiling, as he chewed.

"Yeah," I said, "Just great." My brother smirked.

"It won't be so bad," My dad said, "I'm sure none of the kids at school will remember you. It'll be a fresh start."

"Yeah, I guess."

*

After dinner, I went and had a shower, then I went to bed. I wanted to rest up for school tomorrow.

*

The next morning, I woke up early, and oh! The shock! It's raining. What a great start to the day. I have my traditional breakfast, which consists of a strong coffee, and an apple, and then I go upstairs to get dressed.

*

"Lucia," My brother calls from downstairs, "You're gonna be late."

"Alright. I'll be there in a minute." I ran downstairs after I finished doing my hair. My brother had already left, so I had to take my own car: a little black bug. A really old one. Piece of crap. Yeah, you get it.

*

When I climbed out of my car at school, I got a lot of stares. Like a lot. I'm completely out of place here. Something totally different. I headed straight over to the main office, where they gave me my timetable, and teamed me up with some nerd who was meant to show me around.

*

"This is your locker," The nerd girl said excitedly, "It's right near mine!"

I smiled a _very_ fake smile. "That's _great_." I said sweetly.

"I know! Ooh, I can't wait to show you everything else."

*

Kill me now. This girl was driving me crazy. After she showed me my locker, she took me to my first class. I swear, she almost fainted when she introduced me to the teacher. It was like she'd never met a guy before. He wasn't even good looking and besides, he was probably forty or something.

*

"Mr. Cook, this is the new girl. Her name's Lucia Wheatley." Nerd girl said breathlessly.

Umm, I don't even think that I had told her my name. Freaky. She had sure done her research.

"Okay, Lucia. You can take a seat right over there by Jade." Mr. Cook said. He dismissed Nerd Girl. I guess he didn't like her either.

*

So I took the only empty seat in the room next to Jade, was it? She looked at me, and then did a kind of double take. Oh, God.

"Do I know you from somewhere? You look kind of familiar." She said.

"Uh, I don't think so."

*

I found my own way to my next classes, careful to avoid Nerd Girl. But when I walked out my English class, right before lunch, I was ambushed. Nerd Girl bustled around the corner, and when she saw me her eyes lit up. She waddled even faster, to get to me.

"How are your classes?" She asked.

"Wonderful."

"Want to sit with me at lunch?"

"Um, I kind of have to be somewhere." I said.

"Where?" Ugh, how rude.

"I already told someone else that I would sit with them." I lied smoothly.

Her face fell, "Oh."

"Yeah. Well, I guess I'll see you around. Thanks for your help."

*

I didn't have anyone to sit with at lunch, so I went and got my own table. But not after getting myself a coffee. I pulled out my book from my bag, and started reading. I didn't mind sitting alone; in fact I like it better than sitting with other people. This way, I could do whatever I wanted.

*

I had just taken a sip of my coffee when Nerd Girl found me _again_.

"I thought you said that you were going to sit with someone else." She said.

I swallowed my coffee slowly. "Um, yeah, I was. She's just coming back from the, uh, bathroom. Yeah."

"Where is she then?" This girl never gave up.

I stood up, and walked over to a random girl who was walking past. I stood in front of her. She raised her eyebrows.

"There you are." I said to her, a pleading look on my face. "Help." I mouthed.

"Um..."

"Oh, you're sitting with Anna." Nerd Girl said.

"Uh, yeah. Anna, let's go sit down, shall we?" I asked, begging her with my eyes.

"Lucia?" She asked in disbelief.

"Huh?"

"Um, yeah, let's go sit back down." She said. We left Nerd Girl standing there, looking a little confused.

*

"Ugh, thankyou _so_ much," I said, as I sat down across from the other girl, "You really saved me."

"Is that you, Lucia?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"From elementary school." She said nodding to herself.

"How do you... how do you remember that?" I stuttered, losing my cool.

"You look the same, except kind of slimmer... and you have hair. Yeah, I remember you."

I was silent.

"So you're all better now?" She said, "That's really good."

"Yeah. I just... whoa, I can't believe you remember that," I said, "You were the nice girl weren't you?"

"I guess you could say that."

*

I remembered Anna now. She had been the only kid in school that had actually been nice to me. Not called me names. She was still a nice girl. I chatted to her for the rest of lunch, telling her about what had happened when I had left for England. It was kind of strange. I didn't usually talk to people as easily as this. Back in England, I always sat alone, and people knew not to talk to me. I was the moody girl. I guess I would have to build up that image here too. So that I didn't have people like Nerd Girl coming to kidnap me every lunch time.

*

When the bell went for afternoon classes, Anna stood up, smoothing out her shirt.

"Well," She said with a smile, "If you ever need saving from Anita again, you're welcome at my table."

"Anita?"

"The girl I 'saved' you from." She said, making quotation marks with her fingers.

"Oh, right," I laughed, "Thanks."

*

Paul's POV

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When the bell that signalled the end of school finally rang, I was out of there as quickly as quickly as possible and headed straight to my locker. My fingers spun the dial around quickly as I put in my combination. Once it was open, I reached in and grabbed my bag out, not even bothering to put any books for homework in there. I knew I wouldn't do it. Jared pulled up beside me a minute later.

"Hey man," He said nonchalantly, "Going somewhere?"

"Don't know yet. But it's Friday. There's gotta be _someone_ having a party."

"Who're you thinking?"

"I heard that Violet Panabaker's having one. She's hot, so I'll probably go."

"Hoping to score, I bet." Jared said.

"You know it."

I left Jared standing by his locker then, left the school, and began the walk home.

*

I would have to hurry because it looked like I was about to rain. And besides, I needed to make time to have a shower, get dressed, and get to this party on time. I was really into this Violet chick at the moment, and I swear she was too, because she kept on making those eyes at me. It's a sure way to tell whether a girl likes you or not. A lot of the girls at my school had those eyes for me. I know that sounds stuck up, but it's true.

*

***

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I arrived at the party a little late. My car wouldn't start, which made me mad, but I eventually got it started after a lot of swearing, and a little tinkering with the engine. When I knocked on the front door, Violet let me in. She looked really good. All she was wearing was this tiny red dress, that barely covered her, but I liked it.

*

***

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Violet and I didn't get very far. We just kissed for a little bit. Then she told me she had a boyfriend. Guess my theory about the eyes was wrong.

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**AN: Thanks for reading. If you have anything to say, hit the review button and let me know. Also, check out my profile page. There's links to all my other finished stories.!!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Ooh-eey. I am so sorry guys. I have been unbelievably busy. But now that I have no more assignments for the rest of the year, I am free to write as much as I please. Anyways, please read and REVIEW this chapter. All your kind reviews were much appreciated from the first chapter, and I would love to get that many again. It keeps me motivated. SM owns twilight. we all know it.**

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**Chapter Two**

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Lucia's POV

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My first few weeks in La Push went by reasonably quickly. I was working on my moody image, and that was going well. At least, no-one had claimed me as being a part of their little clique thingies. I talked to a few people though: Anna, the nice girl that I remembered from years ago; and I had talked to Jade a few times in lessons. And thank God; Anita the Nerd hadn't tried to befriend me again.

*

At lunch times, I alternated between sitting in the cafeteria with a coffee and my book, and going out to behind the art block, right near the forest to get away and drink my coffee in peace. Today was an art block day. But just as I sat down, coffee in hand, it started to rain. That was the one thing I really _really_ hated about this place. The torrential downpour that was so often present in La Push. It was that kind of rain that you just couldn't escape. It started, so heavily, that within a few seconds you were completely sopping, and there wasn't even any point in trying to run. So I didn't. I just sat under the tiny overhanging bit of roof behind the art block. It only just kept the rain off me, but the wind was blowing droplets in my direction. Whatever. The cafeteria would only be more horrible today because of the rain. I leant back on the wall behind me, took a sip of coffee, and then closed my eyes.

*

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Paul's POV

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I had just walked into the office, and out of the rain, when I heard the door open and close behind me again. I had been going up there now, to collect some kind of paperwork for my dad. I turned to glance over my shoulder, wanting to see who it was. A teacher, followed by a soaking wet girl had just stepped in. The teacher looked kind of mad, but the girl just looked annoyed. I had never seen her around before, so I assumed she was the new girl that everybody was talking about. Apparently, she was really moody, and she kept to herself a lot. I had also heard that she had a bad habit of getting into mischief. It seemed like people were a bit intimidated by her. I could see why chicks would be. I mean, now that I've seen her, she's pretty gorgeous. And I'm betting all the guys want her. She had long, straight black hair, with a fringe, and these blue bits through it. And these grey eyes, which are kind of strange. But not bad. They're good, but like nothing I've ever seen before. I'm sick of all the brown. She's shorter than me; not tall, not short. A little over average, and slim.

*

I turned away, and spoke to the lady behind the counter.

"I was supposed to pick up some papers." I said.

"Paul MacAlister?"

"Yep."

She reached into a drawer, pulled out a wad of papers and handed them to me just before the teacher who had come in a moment ago interrupted us. She pushed past me, and leant on the bench.

"I found this girl just sitting out in the rain!" She said loudly.

*

I turned to look over my shoulder. The girl was standing there smirking while the teacher ranted on to the lady behind the desk. I shrugged and walked out, thinking nothing of it.

*

***

*

Over the next couple of weeks, nothing much happened. I went to a few parties, got a little drunk, made out with a couple of girls. Jared and I hung out around the rez, but not much else happened.

*

I was getting bored of school today, so at lunch I just decided to leave. No-one would notice. I'd just get in my car and drive out. So I walked quickly over to my car, trying not to be seen, and was about to climb in when I realised something didn't sound quite right. It was to noisy out here. I turned around to see what it was. I soon found the source of the noise.

*

The car next to be had the music turned up full blast; so loud, you could hear it clearly from outside the car. It was a little black bug, the old kind. I bent down to look through the window, just to see who was in there. It was the girl from the office the other day. The new girl. And she was crying. Like, balling her eyes out.

*

I frowned, wondering what was wrong. Was I meant to try to help her? I didn't have any idea what to do in this kind of situation. Crying girls just brought me right down. It made me angry seeing a girl cry. But do you help them? I didn't know. What would you say anyway? Are you okay? No way, because they're obviously not. Shit.

*

I knocked on the window, to try and get her attention. I guess she didn't hear me, because she didn't even flinch, let alone look over at me. So I knocked again. This time, she _must_ have heard. I practically beat the door down. Her head turned slowly to look over at me. Her eyes were red, and little tears sat on her long eyelashes. She wiped at her eyes, and then turned her head back to face through the windscreen.

*

I tried the handle on the door, and found it was unlocked. The door opened slowly. I stuck my head in and looked over at her.

"Are you okay?" I asked, and then mentally hit myself in the head. God, hadn't I been through this already?

She looked over at me again, this time giving me the biggest death stare ever.

"I'm fine." She said sarcastically, as more tears slid down her cheeks.

"Well can I help you with anything?" I asked, going further into the car; almost sitting down on the seat.

"Get the fuck out of my car," She said acidly, "I don't need any help."

*

I didn't say anything else to her. I didn't know what I would've said anything. A girl had never been this way with me. Not so confident and forceful. Usually they're acting all innocent, and being all coy, and then they're all over you. This girl was different: feisty, rude and tough, even when she was crying. And I don't know why, but for some reason I liked it.

*

I still wanted to help this girl, but there was obviously nothing I could do for her. So I got back out of the car and shut the door behind me. I shrugged and turned back to my car, got in, and drove out of the school.

*

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Lucia's POV

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I had a crap day today. Some idiot found out that I was the girl with cancer from elementary school. He just went on and on about it, calling me names. You know the deal. This guy was your typical bully. If they had been teasing me about anything else, I could have coped easily. But since they were targeting me because of my illness, it was just... It disgusted me that people would do that. It made me mad, and so the only thing I could do was yell and swear at him, and then I just took off.

*

I just sat in my car to have a good cry. Sometimes I needed to. When I get upset, I usually hold it in. But eventually, I spill over, and everything comes out. I never let this happen around people, but today I was counting on being interrupted.

*

Some guy just knocked on my window, and then climbed _into my car_ to see if I was okay. I didn't know what to do. So I just told him to fuck off and get out of my car. I wasn't used to people who I didn't even know helping me like that. People were usually scared of me. And I didn't usually attract any attention from guys. I guess they don't go for bald chicks.

*

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Paul's POV

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That weekend, Jared and I went down to the beach to throw a football around. I had the ball at the moment, and was about to throw to Jared.

"Go long!" I yelled, preparing to throw it as far as I could.

He jerked his head in recognition. I drew my arm back, and then thrust it forward as hard as I could, releasing the ball.

*

Jared ran backwards, his hands in front of him getting ready to catch, but the ball went straight past him, flying over his head. He turned to run after it.

"Duck!" I heard him suddenly yell.

Then a girl with long hair came into view. She had her back to us, and was walking slowly along the shore. She didn't respond to Jared. The ball was going to hit her and we both knew it. I started running as well.

*

The moment it collided with her, I knew we were in trouble.

"Fuck!" She said loudly, bringing her hand up to her head. She rubbed it, messing up her long black hair. She turned around slowly to see who had hit her. It was the girl I had found crying in her car at school the other day.

*

Jared and I stood next to each other, shifting our weight uncomfortably from foot to foot, about 5 metres away from her.

"What the hell are you doing? Why'd you hit me?" She asked.

"It wasn't meant to," Jared said, "And I called duck."

She raised her eyebrows.

"I don't usually answer to 'duck'. I don't know about you, but I think maybe using a persons name would be more effective." She said.

"Well how was I supposed to do that? I don't even-" Jared began but I cut him off.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Lucia," She answered cautiously, "Where do I know you from?"

"We're at the same school." I answered, not mentioning the car incident, in the hope that she had forgotten.

Thankfully, she didn't recognize me.

"Oh," She said, "Well, here. Take your ball. And try not to hit any more innocent beach goers."

She bent down to pick up the ball, and then threw it far over our heads. Jared let out a frustrated sigh, and turned to run after it. I followed him.

*

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**AN: Thanks for reading guys. Please REVIEW!! Also, I'm looking for someone to write a character profile up for me for an imprint for Seth in a story I'm planning. Any responses to that, please PM me. Your help would be MUCH appreciated. REVIEW REVIEW!!! The next chapter will be a good'un.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Sup guys. What's happening?? Sorry it's taken me so long. This was kind of a hard chapter to write because I was tossing up with what I was gonna put in, and what to leave out.. so yeah.. also, I've got end of year exams!! NEARLY OVER!!! WOOOOOO!!! Anways, on with this.. I hope you guys enjoy. The next chapter will be a ripper. **** REVIEW!!!! SM owns twilight.**

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**Chapter Three**

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Lucia's POV

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The next Friday, I sat with Anna for lunch. It wasn't by choice; she asked me, but I couldn't turn her down. After all, it had been her that saved me from Anita the Nerd a little over a month ago.

"I just thought you might like to sit with some friends, you know?" She said, as we sat down at her table. She carried a tray full of food, while I held only a cup of coffee.

"Thanks." I said.

"I don't see you around much. Where do you go at lunch?" She asked.

"Oh, just outside." I said evasively, not wanting anyone to come seek me out.

"Oh yeah. Well maybe you should come and sit with us more often."

"I dunno..." I said slowly.

"Oh..." She said, obviously taken aback by my rejection, "Well, that doesn't mean we can't be friends, does it?"

I felt bad now. She was only being nice.

"Of course we can be friends." I assured her.

She relaxed, and then an excited look crossed her face.

"Do you want to come over to my place tonight? There's a party we can go to."

I hesitated before answering.

"Who's going?" I asked.

"Oh, I dunno. Just a few people from school, I guess. Nothing too big."

"Who's house is it at?"

"Jade's. She's a friend of mine. You know her, right?"

"Yeah, I know her."

"So you'll go?"

"My parents-"

"You can stay at my house."

"Alright." I sighed.

*

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Paul's POV

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Jared never showed up that night. He was supposed to be picking me up for a party at Jade's. I was kind of mad, because Jared had never bailed on me before. He hadn't even called. So here I was sitting on the front porch waiting for him to show up.

*

Eventually I decided to call his mobile once more, before I gave up and took my own crappy car. I dialled Jared's number, but it rung out. So I pushed myself up of the steps and walked out into the light drizzle, across the front yard, and over to my car. I climbed in and started the engine, then took off down the street. I tried to concentrate on the road, but I was too busy thinking about Jared. Where the hell was he? Why wouldn't he answer his phone? I had called him at least three times.

*

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Lucia's POV

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Anna spent a good two hours getting herself prettied up for tonight's party. Fine with me. The longer she spent getting ready, the less time we would be at the party for. Everything's fine, right? Wrong. Because after she'd gotten dressed, and done her own hair and makeup, she decided it would be fun to do the same to me.

"Okay, let's get you dressed." She said, clapping her hands.

"I already am dressed."

She eyed my outfit: grey skinny jeans, white t-shirt, and my black converse sneakers. I thought I looked alright.

"It's not very..." She groaned and threw her hands up in the air, "It'll do. But at least let me do something with your hair."

"I like my hair like this."

"What? Down, and straight, with a fringe covering half your face?"

"Uh, yes."

"But Lucia, why don't you let me pull it back? Let people see your eyes. They're really nice!" Anna said, pushing my fringe back.

"I _like_ it like _this_." I growled, loosening her grip, and letting my fringe fall.

"Okay, okay," She said, and then paused before asking, "Can I do your makeup then?"

I had to smile. Her persistence was kind of funny.

"Alright." I agreed eventually.

*

***

*

When Anna said there would only be a few people from school at this party, she had made a massive understatement. Because there was at least a hundred people here. Sure, I recognized some of them from school, but the others I either hadn't encountered yet, were not in school, or were from somewhere else.

*

So while Anna went off to dance and socialise, I just sat outside on a bench with a drink.

"You look like you're having fun." I heard a voice say from beside me.

I turned to see who had snuck up on me, and found a girl who I recognised from my math class. I laughed and then replied.

"Yeah, these high school parties aren't really my thing." I said.

"Same. My friend dragged me along though."

"Yeah, Anna brought me."

"Yeah, so you're Lucia. She told me to keep an eye out for you."

"Oh, you guys are friends?"

"Yeah, I'm Kim." She said, sticking her hand out.

I shook it.

"Nice to meet you."

*

***

*

Kim and I chatted for quite a while. Well, she chatted. I let her do most of the talking. I found out that she's in a few of my other classes, that she has heaps of little sisters, and that she has a gigantic crush on this guy named Jared.

*

I liked her though. She was a cool person. Some one I wouldn't mind spending time with. Someone I might even like to call my friend.

*

But after a while, I decided that I should go and catch up with Anna. First I wanted to get a drink though. So I said goodbye to Kim, and told her that I'd see her at school. Then I went inside to find myself something to drink.

*

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Paul's POV

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The night turned out to be alright. After I got there, I got myself a drink, and then got a spot on a couch inside chatting to a couple of chicks from Forks High. One of them was really clingy. Like way over the top. Completely desperate. But the other one was alright. At least she could hold a conversation, even if it was only about her pet dog which she seemed to be completely obsessed with. It would have been better if Jared was there though.

*

The weirdest thing happened though. Which I was kind of glad Jared wasn't there for. I was just sitting there, talking to these girls, when this cold wet stuff got splashed all over my back. I turned around quickly to see what idiot just tipped their beer all over me.

"What the fuck?!" I yelled, as I turned.

A girl with long black hair was standing there, with a shocked look on her face.

"Sorry," She said, raising her eyebrows, "Shit."

It was only then, after she swore, that I realised it was the girl who had cried in her car that day, and who Jared and I had hit with the football. Lucia.

*

She just turned around, and left me standing there, staring after her with beer dripping down my back. But she stopped, with her back to me, and put one hand on her hip.

"Hey, jackass." She said loudly, to a big guy who was facing away from her. He turned slowly, and then she threw what was left of her drink into his face.

"What'd you trip me for, you fuckwit?" She yelled.

The guy just stood there, sizing her up, and obviously checking her out.

"Don't you call me a fuckwit, you little bitch. It's not gonna make you any friends, trying to act cool the way you do. You'll always just be the little bald white kid from elementary school." He sneered.

I had expected Lucia to come out with something rude and clever like usual but this time, you could practically see her anguish. Her shoulders dropped, and her whole body jerked a little. I couldn't see her face, but I could imagine it. I only wondered what the big guy had meant when he had said what he did. Whatever, it had been really rude.

*

Lucia turned away and stalked past me. I swear I saw tears sparkling in her eyes. I didn't know what to do now though. I felt like I had some responsibility for her, because I'd been involved, but I didn't want to follow her, because I knew she'd be upset. And we all know how I get when girls cry. I climb into their fucking car and scare the crap out of them.

*

I went though, and followed her outside. Sure enough, she was crying. No-one was really around, so she was just leaning against the wall alone.

"Are... Uh... Are you okay there?" I asked, approaching her slowly.

"I don't need any help from you." She said looking up at me from behind her fringe.

"Well, did you come here with someone?"

"Yes." She answered curtly, wiping away a few stray tears.

"Who did you come with?"

"Why are you here?"

"I'm just trying to help you."

"Why? Because you feel sorry for me?"

"I don't like seeing chicks cry." I answered truthfully.

"So you're trying to pick up?"

"No."

"What's your name?" She asked suspiciously.

"Paul Everett. You're Lucia, right?"

"How do you know that?"

"Well, I was the guy who hit you with the football the other day. And I saw you in your car that time."

"You climbed _inside_ my car."

"Yeah, well... whatever. I just wanted to see if you were okay. That guy was a jerk."

"I know. He keeps on giving me a hard time." She said absentmindedly. Then, realising she had just let her guard down, she clamped a hand over her mouth.

"He made you cry in the car that day?" I guessed.

She hesitated, then rolled her eyes, and answered, "Yeah, I guess."

"Why's he keep picking on you?"

Again, she hesitated before answering, "Just... it's a long story. You don't want to hear it. Trust me."

"Fair enough." I said. I was happy to leave it at that if she was. I didn't want to push her anyways. I knew she'd get all feisty.

*

She left pretty much straight after that. I went back into the party, but I saw her leaving with this girl I knew called Anna not long after. I guess she really wanted to leave.

*

The rest of the night was pretty uneventful. The girl from Forks tried to kiss me, but I pretty much had to push her off me coz she was kind of... slobbery. So overall, not the best of nights.

*

***

*

I didn't see, or hear from Jared for a week. I called his house, there was no answer. I knocked on the front door, his mum told me he was sick. So all in all, that week was boring. Not a whole lot happened.

*

But when Jared finally came back to school, that sure changed. It wasn't just me and him hanging out like normal anymore. He wouldn't talk about his time away. He hardly talked at all actually. He only really hung around when we had classes together. Otherwise, he just took off. I didn't know where he went.

*

But one time, we were in math class, and Jared went weird. Like I had never seen anything like it. He turned around to ask the chick behind him for a pencil, and then he kind of just froze. And when he asked her for the pencil he was all stuttery like he was nervous or something. It was strange.

*

And then the only thing he could talk about to me was her. Her name was Kim. I mean I was happy for him that he was interested in someone, but shit. That doesn't mean he has to completely ignore me. I'm his best friend.

*

I didn't like what was happening here. I didn't like it at all.

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**AN: Hope you all enjoyed that. Let me know what you thought with a REVIEW!!!! Check out my profile for links to my other stories. I'v got some new stuff going up.. Have a good one, *H***


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: OMG OMG OMG guys!!!! I can't wait to post the next couple of chapters. I've already written them, and I'm so happy with them. So please review this one, and I'll post ASAP. I want to get them up really soon. Because I love them. So lets try and get the reviews up to 30? At least. I'd really appreciate it. Give me feedback, ideas, advice, constructive criticism. It's all good!! So please review, and ENJOY!!!**

*****

**Chapter Four**

*****

Paul's POV

*****

Party games at high school parties are never a good idea. So why was I sitting in a massive circle playing truth or dare? I don't know. And I don't know what idiot dared Jared to kiss Kim, but I swear, I'll kill them. Our friendship had already been fragile since he had been away from school, but now there was no hope. It was like their mouths were glued together. I could see that the game was over for them. This was all real now.

*

"Paul! Truth or dare?" A guy from my English class asked me from across the circle.

"Dare." I said, rolling my eyes boredly. Maybe if I was lucky I'd get some action too.

"Alright..." He said, the whole circle quietened, "I think you need a girlfriend."

"Right. And...?"

"You ask out the first girl you see at school tomorrow." He said.

"Done." I scoffed. I was never one to back down from a dare. I just hoped it wasn't someone I hated.

*

*

Lucia's POV

*

I know I was meant to be doing the whole moody girl thing at school, and I still was, but lately it'd been hard to escape the temptation of having friends. Anna was really nice, and Kim was... just Kim. Sweet and funny in her quiet way. I had to admit, I liked being around them.

*

I drive Kim to school now. She doesn't have a car, and she only lives just down the street from me. This morning when I picked her up, she was really excited.

"Lucy," She said, using the name that she had chosen for me, "I have _the best_ news!"

"What happened?" I asked expectantly.

"Jared got dared to kiss me at a party last night, and he did, but then after that he took me out into the garden and we had like this full on make out session." She said, hardly stopping for breath.

My jaw dropped, and I turned my head to look at her as I pulled out of her driveway.

"No way." I said.

Kim had been crushing on Jared for over a year, or so she tells me. I had only known her since I met her at that party a few weeks ago, and in that time, she had pretty much told me everything. I knew she was crazy about him. And now, it seemed he was too.

"The only thing is, I'm worried it'll just be one of those party hook ups, you know? Like what if he just ignores me completely today?" She said.

"Kim, come on. Jared's a nice guy, isn't he? And if this was so special last night, then he's gotta be into you. I bet he asks you out today."

Kim sighed, and looked out the window at the passing greenery.

"I hope so." She said quietly.

*

We arrived at school a little late. Kim, being the good girl that she is, rushed off to class. I, being not so good, took my time. I mean, it was only math. I wasn't too fussed if I missed the beginning of the lesson. In fact, I might not go at all. I might just go round to the back of the art block.

*

I locked the doors of my car, and then set off across the car park. But about halfway across, I heard a loud screeching noise. I flung my head around to see where the noise was coming from and found a car coming towards me fast. I dropped my books, and took a few steps back. But luckily, the car stopped just short of me.

"Way to go, asshole!" I yelled, and then bent to pick up my books.

I heard a car door slam, and a shaken looking guy came hurrying over. I recognised him instantly. He was the guy who followed me outside at the party, who climbed in my car when I had been crying, and who hit me in the head with the football. He was named Paul. I groaned inwardly. I guess this meant I had to deal with him again.

"I'm really sorry!" He said, bending down to help me, "Are you okay?"

I raised my eyebrows, straightening back up, and then replied to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Except you scared the crap out of me."

"Look, I'm really sorry, okay? Can I walk you to class? What do you have?"

"Well, I _have_ math, but I wasn't really planning on going. So..."

"Where you gonna go?"

"Just this place I hang out..." I said evasively.

"Mind if I tag along?"

"Uh... why?" I said, sort of rudely.

"Hate math."

*

That was all it took for me to let him come along with me. I don't know why I let him, but as I walked towards the back of the art block, I found that I didn't mind him being there. We sat down, and leaned against the cool walls of the building.

*

We talked. I slowly found myself opening up to him, which wasn't good. I didn't want to break the veneer that I had created to stop people from getting too close. But for some stupid reason, I began to let him in. And I had to admit, he had me charmed. He was just a really cool guy. Albeit a little rough.

*

We ended up talking about the jerk who kept giving me a hard time.

"What's his name?" Paul asked.

"I dunno. I went to school with him when I was a kid."

"Same. I recognise him, but I don't remember his name... Wait, that means..."

"Yeah, well I guess we went to the same school too."

"But how come I didn't recognise you?"

"I moved away." I said, deciding it would be best to just avoid the whole cancer topic. He didn't need to know _that_ much about me.

"Oh. Well you tell me if he keeps picking on you."

"I can deal with him. It's just, you know, a touchy subject."

"If you're so good at 'dealing with him', then how come he keeps making you cry?"

"Look, I can take care of it, okay? Next time he tries to have a go at me, I'll just swear my fucking head off at him." I said, getting a little frustrated.

"Watch your fucking language."

"Shut the fuck up."

He laughed, and I smiled at him. Then we were both quiet for a moment.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about what happened this morning." Paul said.

"Nah, it's cool. I mean usually I'd get a little more fired up when something happens, but I dunno. I guess I'm getting a little too used to you doing stupid stuff to me."

"Aw, come on. I don't do it on purpose."

"Really? I thought you were just trying to get my attention or something."

"I wouldn't try to run over someone to get their attention." He laughed.

"Ah, so you were _trying_ to run over me?"

"Well, maybe. Nah. But I dunno, I still feel bad. You wanna come out someplace tonight?"

"Uh... I dunno. I don't really do that kind of thing. I mean, I haven't..."

"You haven't dated before?"

"Well... no, not really."

"It doesn't have to be a date. And besides, there's a first time for everything, right?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

I smiled, but hesitated, before answering him.

"I'd have to ask my parents." I said, giving into him for some unknown reason. I guess it was his persistence, and his weird ability to make me feel at ease. When he wasn't trying to run me over.

*

***

*

When the bell went for the next class, we left. Kim ran up to me before I could get to the door of the classroom, though, full of excitement.

"Where were you? You missed it!" She said.

"Missed what?" I said, avoiding her first question.

"Jared asked me." She whispered loudly.

"Oh my god, Kim! That's great!"

"I know. We're going out tonight."

"Cool. Well, call me when you get home then, so you can tell me about it."

*

***

*

By the time I got home that afternoon, I had made up my mind. I didn't want to go out with Paul tonight. I didn't know him, let alone like him, if you know what I mean. So my plan was to call him and tell him that my parents had said no. I didn't even ask them, of course. Because I knew if I did then they would try and talk me into going. Also, I didn't want them to find out about our almost accident.

*

I was lying on my bed upstairs, phone in hand, just about to dial Paul's number to tell him I couldn't make it, when there was a knock at the door downstairs. I heard my mum answer it.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'm just after Lucia? Is she around?" A male voice answered.

"She sure is," She replied, and then called up to me, "Lucia!"

*

I knew who it was of course. Paul. My mum had just ruined my plans, but why did Paul think he could just turn up at my house, without even knowing if I was allowed to come out or not and just expect me to go with him? I was very quickly tiring of being the subject of Paul's attention. But I knew I couldn't just hide up here in my room.

"Coming!" I called.

Looking down at my body, I knew I wasn't dressed appropriately for going out. I pulled of my shorts and t-shirt and pulled on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, jacket and shoes. As I rounded the corner of the hall that lead down to the stairs, Paul came into view, standing at the door, talking to my mother.

"... Just thought I'd take her out, you know? I just wanted to make up for something that happened at school today." I heard Paul finish.

"Well, that's very nice of you, Paul. It's the first I've heard about this, but I suppose that's fine. What time do you think you'll have her back by?"

"Around ten?" Paul said. And then he looked up and saw me standing at the top of the stairs.

*

I had to admit, he looked good. But that didn't change the fact that I was uncomfortable about this whole situation. In fact, it made me even more uncomfortable and uneasy. I felt like I would look out of place if I went out with him. It wasn't like I had serious body image issues. Or really any for that matter. I knew I was reasonably attractive, but I also knew that I wasn't turn-your-head-as-you-go-past type gorgeous. Paul's facial expression seemed to contradict this idea though. But he probably looked like that at every girl he saw. Just another piece of meat. It seemed to me like he was quite the ladies man.

*

Anyway, after Paul had dragged his eyes off me, my mum told me to be polite and say hello. It made me feel like I was about eight years old. I would have said hello... maybe. I was in a bit of a pissy mood.

"Well I'll be expecting you home around ten, then Lucia." My mum said.

"Yeah. Thanks." I said, slightly acidly. She didn't seem to notice.

Paul picked up though, and smirked.

"You don't want to come out with me." Paul stated, as we walked down to his car, which was parked on the curb.

"I had lots of homework to do." I said, avoiding his actual question, and instead making up an excuse to explain my mood.

"Since when do you do homework?"

"Since when do you know everything about me?" I retorted.

"You don't strike me as the homework-doing type of girl." He explained.

"Right."

"But I am right. You don't want to come out with me."

"I don't usually go out places with strangers."

"I'm not a stranger. We talked for ages this morning."

"That doesn't mean I like you." I said.

That shut him up for a while.

*

***

*

We didn't go anywhere even remotely romantic, which I was intensely happy about. He ended up taking me to a burger bar in Forks. He was mostly quiet on the way there, after my comments earlier, but when we got there he started talking again. I had been hoping I had put him off completely, but obviously I hadn't. He was still giving me his attention, which I was not happy about. I didn't know why. I mean, this outing was only meant to be to make up for the car park incident, but it seemed to me that it meant more to Paul. I didn't think much of it though. He didn't strike me as the type of guy who could focus himself on one girl for very long. This was probably just a bit of fun for him.

*

I didn't eat much while we were out. He polished off a burger and a large fries, but all I ate was a small bowl of wedges.

"You don't eat much." He pointed out.

"I'm not hungry." I said.

"You're not anorexic are you?" He blurted.

I stared at him, and then blinked a couple of times. I wasn't used to people being so upfront about things like that.

"Do I _look_ anorexic?" I finally managed.

"No, I was just wondering."

"Well, you shouldn't ask those kinds of things. They're personal. But no, I'm not anorexic, bulimic or whatever. I'm not that thin."

"Girl's should eat more. Being too skinny isn't good." He said, with a mouthful of food.

"Whatever, Paul." I said, and looked away.

"No, no. I'm not saying you look bad or anything. You're... a good size..." He said awkwardly, "I mean, I think you look good. I was just saying." He swallowed, and then took another bite.

"What are you trying to crack onto me now?" I said, eyebrows raised.

"Nah. I was just saying."

*

The rest of the night was filled with idle chat, and a lot of silences. They weren't necessarily awkward, more just that I had to change the subject often. Somehow we kept on getting back to the topic of the guy at school who kept picking on me, or my childhood.

*

Other than that, it wasn't as bad a night as I expected it to be. I mean, it wasn't like I had a really great night, but... it wasn't bad. Paul got me home fifteen minutes earlier than he had told my mother he would, and he walked me to the front door. Just before I said goodbye though, he leaned in towards me just the tiniest bit. It was almost unnoticeable, but I knew what he was doing.

"I thought they always said you shouldn't kiss on first dates." I said, taking a step towards the door, and away from him.

"I thought this wasn't a date," He said, raising his eyebrows in amusement, "And it's just a kiss on the cheek."

"It's not a date." I said quickly, and then was shocked to feel his warm lips brush gently against the skin of my cheek.

"Consider that an apology for almost killing you." He said, smiling his superior smile.

"I thought that was what you were taking me out for."

"Well, then that's just a bonus." He grinned.

"You need a serious slap in the face, you know. One day there's gonna be a girl who doesn't actually like you as much as you think they do, and she is gonna _seriously_ damage your over inflated ego."

He scrunched up his nose and laughed.

"Well, until that happens, I think I'll keep on enjoying the benefits of being me." He said.

"You better watch yourself, Paul," I said, opening the door, "I'll see you around."

I closed the door, and left him standing on the front porch. I smiled to myself, and then went up to bed.

*

**

**AN: Thanks for reading guys, now please REVIEW!!! Also, go to my profile to get links to my other stories. I've got some new stuff up **** Cheers, *H***


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Guys!!! What?!?!?! No reviews!!! that made me sad. **** I got plenty for my other stories, but none for this one.. **** PLEASE REVIEW THIS CHAPTER FOR ME!!! I need your help!! SM owns Twilight.**

*****

**Chapter Five**

**Lucia's POV**

*****

Over the next week, Paul and I didn't really talk. Not properly, anyway. We would say hi as we passed each other in the hallways, and if we were in the same class. But other than that, not a whole lot. One day, in Spanish class though, that changed.

"Group assignments!" Our teacher, Senorita Gabriel said, with way too much enthusiasm.

The whole class groaned. I looked over at Kim, who was sitting next to me.

"Partners." I mouthed.

Senorita Gabriel must have seen this though, because she shook her head.

"Class, you will be performing a short dialogue in Spanish in front of the class. You will not choose partners yourself; we will be drawing names out of a hat." She said.

*

Slowly, the whole class drew their names out of the hat. There were a few smiles, a few groans, and a few angry glares directed at either new partners, or at Senorita Gabriel.

*

When I drew out my partner's name, both my partner, and Senorita Gabriel received an evil glare.

"What'd I do?" Asked Paul, as I sat down next to him.

"You had to be named Paul." I muttered, straightening up my books.

Paul looked confused for a moment, but then smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"You know, being all feisty isn't putting me off. I like it."

"Why would I be trying to put you off? There's nothing going on between us." I replied confidently.

Paul smiled, and then looked down at the task sheet the teacher had put in front of us. He said something under his breath but I didn't hear it properly. I wasn't sure I wanted to.

*

On the way out of the classroom, Paul stopped me. I had been trying to exit as quickly as possible, but his hand caught my arm before I could get far enough away.

"We should work on this sometime after school." He said, pulling me aside.

"Ah, the old 'homework date'," I gave a short laugh, and then shook my head, "What do you think you're up to, Paul?"

He shrugged his shoulders and leant back on the wall lazily. He always seemed so confident.

"It doesn't matter what I'm 'up to'," He made quotation marks in the air, "I just want to get this work done, and if that means seeing you after school then so be it."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Well, maybe it is. You're so goddamn aggressive."

"Well, I guess you'll just have to get used to that."

"Whatever. I can cope. I'll be round to your place at 5 on Friday. Or I could give you a lift home from school..."

"I'll see you at 5." I said, and then walked away.

*

***

*

A couple of days passed, bringing me to a Thursday, meaning I had only one day left until Paul's dreaded visit. I had just been talking to Kim in the cafeteria, while I got my coffee. She had a date with Jared on Friday night. Apparently there was some party on. She was happy because she knew it meant she would get to kiss him again. Not that she didn't do enough of that already. Anna also asked me if I was going, but I told her I didn't know. I didn't really want it getting out that Paul was coming to my house that night. I was worried that people would think there was something going on.

*

Once I had my coffee in hand, I left the cafeteria. I got almost all the way to the back of the art block before I got stopped.

"Hey, baldy!" A male voice.

I swung around, and found Chris, the guy who had been teasing me standing with a couple of his friends on either side of him.

"What the fuck do you want, Chris?"

"I want you to go back where you come from."

"I come from here, Chris, you idiot."

"You don't belong here. Look at you. You're one of the only white girls here. And you were bald."

"I really hate you, you know that?"

"No wonder people don't speak to you. You white freak."

Tears started gathering in my eyes.

"Why do you do this, Chris?" I whispered.

"What's the matter, Baldy? You gonna cry?"

"Fuck you, Chris. Fuck you." I said quietly.

"You're a loser. Nobody likes you. Trust me. I've heard what people say-"

He was cut off by another male voice. Not one of his friends.

"Chris, you leave her alone right now, or I swear to god, I'll kick your ass."

It was Paul.

*

_What the fuck_ was he doing here?

"You better watch your back, Everett." Chris said, and then he and his friends shuffled away.

Paul took a step towards me.

"Why doesn't that ever work for me?" I said quietly, and then burst into tears.

*

Paul stepped forward again, and put a hand just above my elbow. He steered me over to the art block. I sat down, and leant back. He did the same next to me. It was silent, except for the deep breathes I was taking to stop my tears. I didn't want to cry in front of Paul. Not again.

"You know I really hate it when you cry, but... you know, if you need to... I guess it's just better if you get it all out, right?" He said, avoiding looking into my eyes. He must really hate seeing girls cry.

"I'm not crying." I said, looking away, and wiping my eyes.

"Okay. Well, if you're alright, then I guess I'll go."

"No," I found myself blurting out, and then realising what I'd done, muttered, "Shit."

I clamped a hand over my mouth, and looked away, but I could see Paul smirking out of the corner of my eye.

"Ah, so you don't hate me so much after all."

"When did I ever say I hated you?"

"Well, you'd been making it pretty obvious." He smiled.

"I don't hate you. I just don't like you."

*

It was silent for a moment longer, and then I spoke again, wanting to know the answer to something.

"Paul, why did you come out here? Why do you keep running into me?"

"Just luck, I guess," And then he smiled over at me, "Or maybe bad luck. Every time I see you you're in a bad mood."

"I'm always in a bad mood." I laughed.

"Why?"

"Ah, you know. School, parents, idiot guys..."

"I must be one of the idiots." He said with a smile.

"No, I meant like Chris... or whatever."

"You make yourself an easy target." He pointed out.

I looked over at him, slightly offended, and raised my eyebrows, waiting expectantly for an explanation.

"Like this whole bad girl thing you've got going on. And you sit out here all by yourself. Like why do you do that? He woulda kicked your ass, Lucia. I'm not kidding."

I stared at him, wide eyed.

"Okay, firstly," I said indignantly, "I haven't got a 'bad girl thing _going on_', I'm just like this. Second, I sit out here to _avoid_ the losers like Chris who sit in the cafeteria. And third, I could of dealt with him myself, you just happened to walk by. I had it under control."

"Are you kidding me?" Paul said in disbelief, "You were about to snap. I could see you crying. And Chris had two other guys on his side. You gotta watch out, Lucia, seriously. Start sitting inside. Sit with me, even."

"I have other friends who I could sit with."

"Well, sit with them then. I don't care. I just don't wanna have to come to your rescue every time you get yourself into trouble." He said, getting a little fired up.

"I never asked you to come to my rescue, Paul. Why do you care so much about what Chris does anyway?"

"I hate that guy," He said, slightly overlapping me, "He's a jerk. I remember when we were only kids, at school. He was like your typical school bully. He teased me coz my mum left me when I was only young. Three, maybe. But worst of all, he teased this little girl. I can't remember her name. It got so bad she had to leave the school. And all because she was having chemo, and it made her lose her hair. That poor little kid had cancer, and Chris bullied her to no end. Shit, it was horrible. So... yeah, that's why I hate him. Coz I know what it's like to be picked on by him. And I watched it happen to this other little girl."

*

When Paul mentioned the little bald girl in his story, I knew he was talking about me. He didn't though. He didn't know that that little girl was sitting right next to him, years later, still crying over the same thing. I couldn't say a word to him once he had finished. I didn't trust myself. All I knew was that I still wasn't ready for anyone else to know about the cancer. It was still only Anna, Chris and I that knew the whole story.

*

Paul looked over at me expectantly, waiting to see what I had to say to his story, but like I said, no words came out at first.

"So can you see why I'm trying to protect you from him?" Paul asked.

I nodded and stood up slowly.

"I don't want him to force you out of here like he did to that other little girl. I won't let it happen. He won't win." He said, standing in front of me.

I was quiet for a moment, and then spoke.

"Paul?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for before," I said, and then smiled, "Chris really woulda kicked my ass if you hadn't of come, huh?"

Paul smiled, "Yeah, well I guess you were lucky."

*

We walked back to the main buildings together, but after that we went our separate ways. I had a class with Kim. We sat next to each other, and she whispered to me about Jared. I talked back, because I liked talking to Kim. I didn't mention Paul to her, but we found plenty to talk about; plenty to keep our mind off our actual class work.

"You know, Lucy," She said, using the name she frequently called me now, "I really think you should meet Jared properly. He wants to meet you properly too, you know. And I mean, you are my best friend."

I smiled over at her. I had to say, Kim was probably my best friend too. We spent quite a bit of time together, even though she didn't know everything about my past.

"Well, I guess that'd be good." I agreed.

"Great! You should come to that party tomorrow night. You really should. And you can meet him there."

"I dunno."

"Aw, come on, Lucy. Keep me company."

"I'm busy though, Kim. I'm really sorry."

"Oh," She said, her face fell, "What are you doing?"

"I just have a lot of school work."

"People always use that excuse when they don't want to do something." She whined.

"Kim, believe me, I really do want to meet Jared properly, and I really do want to keep you company. It's just that I really do have a lot of school work to do. And I _really_ don't want to go to another party. Last time I went it was a disaster."

She smiled knowingly, remembering what I had told her about the beer incident, and nodded.

"I understand," She said, "Maybe we could go shopping sometime then."

"That'd be good." I said genuinely. I was so grateful that I had a friend as understanding as Kim to rely on.

*

***

*

The next day went by too quickly and before I knew it, I had only 20 minutes until Paul was due to arrive at my house. My parents were out at Port Angeles for dinner and a movie, and my brother was off at his friend's party. So that left me home alone. For now anyway. Once Paul arrived, things were sure to get interesting, and I don't mean in a good way. A fight was guaranteed. It was just how things worked when we were around each other. Whatever. It was a good way to keep him uninterested in me. Although, that seemed to be getting increasingly hard to do.

*

To keep Paul in the dark about the whole cancer thing, I removed all the pictures that were around the place of me when I was younger; meaning, me when I was bald. I hid them in one of the cupboards in the lounge room. I had just finished hiding when there was a knock at the front door. I went to answer it.

"Hey." Paul said when I opened the door.

"Hey. Come on in."

"Parent's out?" He said, raising an eyebrow. But he laughed, destroying the creepy vibes that I was getting from him.

"They've gone out for dinner. They won't be home til eleven." I said.

"Oh." He said, looking down.

"What?"

"It's just-" He sighed, "Nothing."

"Alright..." I said uncertainly, "Let's get to work then."

He nodded and followed me into the lounge room. I pulled my stuff off the table and put in the floor. I lay down on my stomach and opened my Spanish book. He followed my lead, and did the same across from me.

*

It was silent for a few minutes while we looked over the task sheet. But finally I rolled over onto my back and let out a long and frustrated sigh.

"I really hate this schoolwork crap, don't you?" I said, staring hard at the ceiling.

"Uhuh." He murmured, letting the paper fall out of his hand.

"I don't feel like doing this." I rolled back onto my stomach and then stood up.

*

As I walked into the kitchen I turned the TV on. I came back out with two cans of Coke and a packet of chips. I put them on the coffee table, and then sat down on the couch.

"Help yourself." I said, nodding my head towards the food. I reached forward, grabbed a can, leant back on the couch and put my feet up on the table. Picking up the remote, I flicked through the channels until I found something that I liked.

"I know you said you wanted to come here to do the Spanish work, but I think you might have been lying a little bit." I said.

Paul raised his eyebrows, stood up, and sat on the other end of the couch.

"Are you always like this?" He asked.

"Guess so," I said, taking a sip of my drink, "Is that good or bad?"

He leant forward and grabbed the other can of Coke.

"It's good, believe me. I'm impressed." He said.

"Aren't you the one who should be trying to impress me?"

"Well, with most girls, yeah. But I guess you're different, huh?"

"Guess so," I said, and then was silent for a moment, "God, how cliché was that?"

I laughed, and Paul grinned over at me.

"What can I say? I'm your own personal Prince Charming."

"Shut up, Paul. You are _not_ Prince Charming."

"Aw, come on. Don't lie to yourself. I've _totally_ got you under my spell."

"Uh, no Paul."

"Whatever, you're in denial."

"That shouldn't matter. Supposedly I'm the one who's impressing you anyway." I said smugly.

"Don't worry; you are," He laughed, "You're a really cool chick, Lucia."

I leaned forward to grab the packet of chips, just so that he couldn't see my face. I was actually really flattered, but I didn't want him to know that. I didn't want him to know that he was right, and he was starting to charm me.

"Well, look who's charmed now." I said, dryly, leaning back into the couch. I handed him the bag of chips. He grabbed a handful.

"There's a party on tonight, if you don't want to do this Spanish stuff." He said.

"I don't think I want to do either of those things." I said, turning my attention back to the TV.

"I think you'd enjoy yourself."

I looked over at him, and then put my drink down on the table.

"Can you get me home before 11 o'clock?"

*

***

*

A couple of beers later, and surprisingly, I was enjoying myself. I caught up with Anna briefly, and caught a glimpse of Kim and Jared making out in a corner, but decided not to butt in. I knew I wouldn't like to have been interrupted if it were me. I spent most of my time either just having a look around, being chatted up by college guys, and then being saved from them by Paul. Those were his words, not mine. I was totally in control of the situation. I don't know why he always had to barge in like he did.

"Why do you keep on doing that?" I said, angrily.

"They're college guys, Lucia! And they're drunk."

"What, and you're not?"

"No, I'm not!" He said loudly, "I've only had a couple."

I sighed, knowing that he was probably right. But I didn't want to openly acknowledge it.

"You suck!" I said, voice raised, and then stalked off into the back yard.

*

I took my almost empty bottle of beer with me, and sat on a bench a little bit away from the main action of the party. It wasn't completely secluded, but it was kind of dark. I wasn't worried though. I could handle myself. I settled in, and watched the party unfold around me.

*

About five minutes later, Paul was back next to me. He sat down on the bench, beer in hand, and looked over at me.

"Sorry, okay?" He leant over, with his elbows on his knees, and put the beer bottle down on the ground between his feet. I stayed silent, so he kept talking.

"I just don't want to see you with other guys, you know? Coz I can guess what they'd do to you if they got you into one of those rooms inside."

"As if I'd let that happen!" I said, not believing what I was hearing, "How could you think I'd be like that?"

"I'm not saying I think _you're_ like that, it's them I'm worried about. Because you're not as strong as you think you are, okay?"

I looked at him, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Look, Lucia, just... I just don't want to see you get hurt."

He was leaning forward now. And to my surprise, I found myself letting this happen. I made no move to stop him. I guess I wanted this to happen. Maybe that what all these weird feelings I'd been having meant. Maybe I actually _wanted_ Paul to kiss me. Maybe I liked him more than I thought.

*

One of his hands reached out towards my right one, and the other wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to him. My back arched a little as he pulled me along the seat and towards him. I had my left hand still resting on the bench, holding my body weight, but the other slowly made its way out of Paul's grip and travelled up his arm. Soon it was resting against the smooth skin of his neck. The hand of Paul's that used to hold mine moved to my hip, and the one that had been on my waist moved to my hair. This was all fine, until our tongues met. It shocked me, and I finally woke up to myself and realised what I was actually doing. I was kissing Paul Everett, who I had tried my hardest to not like, in an attempt to maintain my moody girl reputation, and to keep my feelings secure. Paul had broken down my walls though, and I wasn't sure what to do about it. I was enjoying the kiss, but... I couldn't let him get to close. So I pulled a little, but let him keep kissing me. Just no tongues. Not yet.

*

After a while, he pulled his mouth away from mine, and looked me straight in the eyes. His forehead was touching mine.

"Lucia?" He said, breathing heavily.

"Uhuh?" I murmured.

"I _really_ like you."

"Really?" I asked dumbly. It was a stupid thing to say, really. I mean we wouldn't be acting like this if he didn't. Or if _I_ didn't.

"Yeah, really."

I just smiled.

"Wow." I said.

"I know. It's weird," He said, leaning back a little, "I always used to just get with girls at parties, and that would be the end of it. But this… There's something different, Lucia. You're not someone I can ignore afterwards, because I really like you. I actually want to spend time with you."

"Well, maybe we should do something else together." I found myself suggesting.

"Sure."

*

He leaned in, and kissed me again, but we were interrupted by a loud yell.

"So you finally went through with it!" A slurred male voice yelled.

Paul pulled away, and looked over at him, confused.

"What?" He said.

"The dare, stupid," The other guy said, obviously drunk, "You have to remember."

"What dare, Paul?"

"Oh, man, she doesn't know!" The guy said, and then giggled.

"Shit." Paul said.

"Paul, what the hell is he talking about?" I asked.

"Yeah, what the hell are you talking about, man?"

"The _dare_! I dared you to get a girlfriend, and you did it. First girl you saw back at school remember?"

"Shut up, man."

"She knows now, dude. You did the dare. Dump her and be free!" He made flapping actions with his arms. For an instant I wondered how many beers he had actually had.

"I said shut up!" Paul yelled, standing up.

"Paul, _what the fuck_ is going on here?"

"Look, I'll explain in the car. Let me take you home. It's quarter to eleven." He said.

I looked around me, trying to see a clock, and found the drunk guy gone. I couldn't see the time anywhere.

"I'm not going home with you," I spat, "I'll walk home."

"There's not enough time. You're parents will arrive home before you."

"I don't care!" I yelled, "I'm not going anywhere with you. I hate you."

His face fell, but still he persisted.

"You might get hurt. Or lost or something." He said.

"Why would you care anyway, Paul? You're a liar. Now just fuck off, and let me go home."

*

He tried to grab my wrist as I stormed past him, but I yanked it away from him and kept walking. I didn't say goodbye to Anna or Kim, because I knew they would ask me what was wrong, and that would uncover this whole situation between Paul and me. I couldn't let that happen. Especially after what had just gone down.

*

I walked straight through the house, and out the front door. I started walking down the street, but hadn't even gone 100 metres before a car pulled up on the curb beside me.

"Get in, Lucia." Paul's voice called.

"No."

"Come on. Just to talk about this."

"No. If we're talking about it, we'll do it while I'm walking. I'm not getting in that car with you."

"Fine. I'll just drive along next to you."

*

Both of us were silent until I had to cross a little laneway that branched off the main street I was walking down.

"So... you told me you didn't want to see me get hurt, and then you go and do this. I just don't get it."

"I don't want to see you get hurt, but I guess I've done that myself, haven't I? God, you know, I never meant for this to happen."

"But you go and kiss me like that, and I find out it was for a dare. You get my hopes up that a guy _actually likes_ me, and then completely destroy that. So, yeah, thanks for that, Paul." Tears were gathering in my eyes now.

"Lucia, honestly, I wasn't doing this as a dare! I'd completely forgotten about that."

"Sure," I said in disbelief, "But another thing I don't get is why you would agree to something like that in the first place."

"That doesn't matter. The point is that I'd forgotten about the freakin' dare!" He said, getting angry now.

"Shut up, Paul. People live on these streets you know."

*

There was silence for a couple more minutes, and the only noise I could hear was Paul's car driving slowly beside me, and the distant roar of the waves.

"You can't hate me based on what some drunken idiot says." Paul said.

"You are a drunken idiot. You and that guy. Only two drunken idiots would cook up a plan as stupid as that."

"Oh, for Christ's sake, I didn't _plan_ on doing this!"

"But you still did. You still managed to lead me on, get a little action in the process, and then hurt my feelings. Just another one of you're party hook-ups, huh?"

"No, it isn't! I told you that myself!"

"When did this start, Paul?"

"I don't know, because I never meant to 'start' anything!"

"Whatever. Just let me walk home in peace. I don't want some creepy guy following me home."

"Shit, Lucia! I wasn't so creepy 20 minutes ago!"

"A lot can change in 20 minutes though. I thought that'd be pretty obvious, but then again, you are an idiot."

"You know, for someone who hates getting bullied, you do a pretty good job of being a bitch yourself."

"So you're calling me a bitch now?"

"No, I'm saying you're being bitchy."

"I am not. I have every reason to be angry at you."

"I know it would look that way, but just remember you're trusting the word of a drunk 16 year old, over mine. You trust me, right?"

"I was getting to, but not anymore."

"Well, what can I do to make it up to you?"

"You can stop following me."

"Not that."

"Fine, follow me home, but don't expect to be hearing from me anytime soon. Not voluntarily anyway."

"You're so stubborn, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know it. And I think in this situation it's an advantage. I won't give in to you."

*

He followed me the rest of the way home, and then drove away. But only after I had closed the front door. Miraculously, I had made it home before my parents. I went straight to bed. I knew that my parents would guess that something was wrong, and I couldn't risk that. If they knew I had been out drinking at a party, and then let a boy who I hated follow me home, then I would be _deep_ in the shit.

*

**

**AN: So please review guys. I want feedback.. and check out my profile for links to my other stories. **** have a good one, *H***


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Alrighty, guys. First of all, I'd like to say that it's impossible to explain just how sorry I am for this incredible delay. I know, it's been far too long. But I hope you stick with me. I suppose the only thing I can blame for my delay is a lack of motivation. So please motivate me! Send me REVIEWS!! I know I don't deserve it, but I would love it if you did it anyway. I'd like to hear your theories, ideas, feedback, and general comments. Cheers, *H***

*****

**Chapter Six**

**Paul's POV**

*****

I was furious. At myself, at her, and at this whole stupid situation. I had tried to be nice to her. Hell, I'd been making an effort ever since I met her. And what does she do? She goes off at me over a simple misunderstanding. What had I done wrong?

*

On Monday, she ignored me all day. Even when we were in Spanish and we were supposed to be working together on that project. She just sat there nest to me drawing in her notebook, while I watched her.

*

I wasn't too concerned about not getting our work done, and she didn't seem to be either. I was concerned about how I was going to make Lucia like me again though. I still had feelings for her, even though she had totally jumped to the wrong conclusion the other night. Yeah. I still wanted her. I hoped I could make her want me too. I wasn't used to having to work for girls. But I guess I was willing to this time, because I liked this one more than usual.

*

So while she sat there scribbling, I sat there thinking. How the hell was I supposed to do this?

*

**

**Lucia's POV**

*

The only thing that could have made me angrier was if that jerk Chris was sitting on my other side. See, I already had Paul next to me, which I was not happy about. We should have been working on Spanish, but neither of us spoke to the other, and I was out of that classroom as quickly as possible when the bell went.

*

I waited outside for Kim.

"What's with you and Paul?" She asked, as she walked up beside me. She had Jared with her.

"What do you mean?" I said, a little too quickly.

She looked pleased.

"I knew something was up. I saw you walking off with him at that party the other night you know." She said with a grin.

"Kim, can we talk about this later? Or... you know... alone?" I glanced at Jared.

He smiled.

"Say no more, say no more," He said, with a grin, "I don't want to hear your secret women's business anyway."

And with that, he was gone.

"What exactly happened with you two?" Kim asked eagerly, pulling me along by the elbow.

"Kim..."

"Come on, Jared's gone now. Just tell me! You're my best friend."

I groaned. "Alright. Alright." And then said nothing more.

"Well?!" Kim said impatiently.

I tipped my head back in exasperation. I really didn't want to tell her. I laughed, and then looked at her.

"Well, I don't know. I suppose we had a bit of a thing going on. Well, the beginnings of a thing. If you could even call it that."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me?" She shrieked excitedly. We came to a stop around a corner. Less people were around now. Everyone was at lunch.

"I don't know. Because I don't tell people that kind of thing."

"Lucy!"

"And besides, nothing had really happened anyway."

"Well, what went on at that party?"

"I don't want to talk about that." I said with a huff.

"_Lucy._" She said, forcefully. For some reason, I couldn't not tell her. I wasn't used to this happening, believe me, so it was a big shock when the words tumbled out of my mouth.

"He kissed me."

"_What?_"

"And I kissed him back."

"I can't believe you did that. He's a _notorious _womaniser, Lucia. I know that sounds weird to hear about a- what? 17 year old guy, but... He's a real ladies man, I'm telling you."

"Yeah, well I know that now."

"What happened?"

"Ugh. It just seemed to good to be true, you know? Guys just don't like me. My mum told me it's because I'm intimidating."

"So is that why you two are ignoring each other?"

"No. The reason I'm ignoring him is because he was only hanging around me for a dare."

Kim was wide eyed, staring at me. Her eyes looked slightly out of focus. I kept talking.

"There I was, thinking that someone finally liked me. And it was _Paul_, for Christ's sake! He was being so nice to me. He was actually making me feel... I don't know. _Good._ And then some idiot came over and said that it had all been for a dare. Can you believe it?" I sighed. Kim was still staring at me blankly.

"Kim, what is it?" She blinked, and looked at me.

"Behind you." She whispered. So she hadn't been looking at me. She'd been looking over my shoulder.

*

I turned around, to find myself facing none other than Paul. I bit my lip and shook my head. He looked at me sadly, and then turned around and made to walk away. My hand shot out before I could stop it, and grabbed his wrist. He turned back, and looked at me, confused.

"Sorry." I said, dropping his wrist.

"That's okay." He said slowly.

I turned my head, for Kim's help, but she was gone.

"So I guess you heard all of that, then." I said, since I had nothing else to say.

"Most of it, yeah."

"Shit." I said, with a sigh.

"Well, I know you're pissed off with me, but I just thought I'd tell you one more time. I'd forgotten about the dare. That was all real."

That was all he said, and then he left.

*

***

*

I ran. I was trying to find Kim, and when I did, I grabbed the backpack that was slung over her shoulders, pulling her to a halt. She gasped.

"Why'd you let me keep talking?" I asked her.

"I- I-"

"You what?"

"I don't know!" She said, her voice rising in pitch, "I'm sorry!"

All I could do was sigh. I was embarrassed.

"At least he knows now, I guess," She said, biting her lip, "What did he say, anyway?"

"He said he'd forgotten about the dare."

"That's bullshit, Lucy. Don't believe him."

"I don't." I said, a second too late. Kim looked at me pointedly.

"_Lucy_?"

"I don't!"

"Alright."

*

***

*

I knew I was lying to myself. I wanted to believe so badly that he _had _forgotten about the dare, and I was starting to convince myself. Paul had sounded pretty sincere back there in the hallway. I knew that Kim meant well. She was only trying to protect me from him. But there was just something that made me want to believe him. I knew that that probably wasn't a good thing, but it wasn't like I could help it. I was attracted to Paul, and that was that. That's how teenagers are.

*

I stepped out of the shower, and looked into the mirror as I wrapped a towel around my body. There I was, long, straight black hair, blue eyes, clear, pale skin, red lips. I wasn't as ugly as Chris made out. I was even kind of pretty. But I guess that made me just like all the other girls that Paul had been with. He wouldn't have hung around with ugly girls. Not someone like him. So I was faced with a big dilemma. Did he like me for real, or not? And what was I supposed to do about it?

*

**  
**AN: Thanks for reading guys. Remember to review. Have a good one. :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: I believe the most sincere of apologies are in order. I won't lie. I haven't been busy. well, I have. but I could have written. to tell the truth, I just didn't have the motivation. I just didn't feel like it. but I was reading through this yesterday, and I had to continue. so please, make me feel better about this whole kerfuffle with some reviews and feedback on the chapter. :D**

**Chapter Seven**

**Paul's POV**

The next Friday afternoon, I had to walk home, which sucked because it was raining. The ground was muddy, and there were puddles everywhere. When I was about halfway home, I started feeling a little sick. No, not sick, just weird. Wrong.

I was nearly home when it happened. A car drove close past me, the wheels going through a puddle on the side of the road. It splashed me. I was soaking wet. I got so mad, that I started shaking. But I didn't know why. I mean sure, getting splashed should piss you off, but to the point of shaking in anger? Then I got even angrier with myself for getting angry about that. I had been trying to control myself lately. It all went down the drain right about now.

I was shaking so hard, and I felt sick. I groaned, and staggered over towards the trees. I sat on a fallen log. Looking down at my hands, I found that they were still shaking like crazy. Then my whole body shuddered, and I screamed, as I practically exploded.

Sam's POV

I ran out of my house as soon as I heard the pained howl. I knew it wasn't Jared, the only other werewolf than me. So that meant that we had a new one. It was my guess that it was either Jacob Black, or Paul Everett. They were both getting old enough and big enough to be joining us.

I phased just before I got into the woods. I needed to help whoever it was that had just phased. I could hear the new wolf's distressed thoughts. He was in pain. I could understand; I had gone through exactly the same thing, except I had no one to help me.

"_Is that Jacob or Paul?"_ I asked.

"_Huh?"_

"_I know that this is very hard for you to understand what's happening to you, but you need to listen to me. You can trust me."_

"_Who are you?"_

I came out of the cover of the trees to find a dark grey wolf, smaller than me, lying on its side.

"_What the hell is happening to me?"_ He panted.

"_My name is Sam Uley, and you're Paul aren't you?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Okay, well, I guess I can either tell you what you are, or you can look down at your hands."_ I said.

"_I already have! I've got fricking PAWS!"_ He said. _"What the hell is happening?"_

"_You're a werewolf, Paul."_

"_Bullshit."_

"_Explain the paws to me then."_ I said.

"_You better have a good explanation for this."_

"_Oh, I do. But I guess I had better get Jared."_

"_What's Jared doing with you?"_

I could hear the other thoughts running through his head that I wasn't meant to hear. He was wondering why Jared was with me, when he hadn't been speaking to Paul for a few weeks.

When Jared arrived, we explained to Paul what was happening to him. He didn't take it well, and as a result, he found it hard to phase back when we tried to help him. But when he did phase back, he was very embarrassed about being naked in front of us.

"Don't worry, Paul. You'll get used to it. We both did." Jared said when we had all phased back. Paul just growled at him.

Paul's POV

I didn't know what to do. What the fuck was I _meant_ to do? Even after everything had been explained to me, I could wrap my head around things. I just couldn't do it. I didn't know why this had to happen to me. I didn't ask for it. I didn't deserve it. The only upside to this whole situation was that I had Jared back.

I couldn't go home. Not tonight. So I went to a party. It was completely against Sam's orders, and Jared had warned me not to go out yet, but I needed something to take my mind off things.

Many drinks later, I was on a couch that had been moved outside, with a girl. And we were kissing. I didn't even know what her name was. I didn't really care. This was nothing special. It was just to take my mind off things. I had so much going through my head that I felt numb.

I could hardly hear. The alcohol was taking away my ability to think straight, and I wasn't in the best frame of mind. I tried to focus on the girl I was with. It was all I _could_ focus on right now. This was simple and easy. Nothing compared to what I had gone through earlier.

I had almost cleared my head of all sound around me when a voice interrupted me. It was loud, it was clear, and it was painfully familiar.

"Another dare, Paul?"

I froze, clamping my eyes shut. Maybe if I pretended not to hear her, she'd leave. It'd be like this never happened. After a moment, I pulled away and sighed. Lucia was nowhere to be seen. I knew I wasn't dreaming though. She'd been there, and she'd seen me with this girl.

"What the hell did that girl want?" Said the chick that was with me on the couch.

"Uh, she's just a girl I know. Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it?" She scoffed, "Yeah, whatever."

She stood up, and walked away, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

I raised my eyebrows, and fell back on the couch with a sigh.

**Lucia's POV**

"He was _with_ another girl, Kim. How sorry can he be?"

"I'm sure he didn't mean for it to happen." Kim replied.

I laughed. "He didn't _mean_ to make out with the girl? He just _fell_ on top of her and their mouths just _accidentally_ connected? Ha! Come on, Kim."

"No, no! I meant he probably didn't mean for you to see him doing it."

"Well, I _did_ see it, didn't I?" I sighed, "It doesn't matter, I guess. I'm giving up on Paul. I thought he was a good guy, but I guess not."

"Well, maybe it's for the best." Kim said slowly.

"Well, yeah, you're probably right... I just thought he was gonna turn out good, you know?"

"Just forget him, Lucy."

"Yeah, you're right. Screw Paul."

**Paul's POV**

Jared arrived not long after the incident with Lucia. He told me that Sam was out the front, and that he wasn't happy.

"What the hell does he think he's doing, following me around now?" I said angrily to Jared as we walked out.

"He's just trying to look out for you, Paul.'

"I don't need his help."

"It was my idea to look here for you."

I paused, midstep and looked at Jared. He kept walking. I let out a frustrated sigh and followed him.

Sam waited to start his lecture until we had walked in to the woods that surrounded the house.

"You can't just go out to parties like this, Paul. I thought we went through this."

"I am _not_ a part of your little cult, Sam. I'll do whatever the hell I want." I replied, stepping forward angrily.

"It's dangerous for you to be around lots of people right now."

"What, so now I can't even go near people? Is that what you're telling me? I'm some kind of monster?"

"No, but you're dangerous right now." Sam said, shaking his head.

"I'm not going to follow your orders, Sam."

"That's not up to you."

"The hell it is." I said, and then turned away from him, and stalked out of the woods.

I knew where I was going. I knew what I was doing. I was going back to the party. And I was going to defy Sam's orders.

But as I was walking back towards the house, I passed someone on the street, and that someone made me freeze.

**AN: To be honest, I'm not entirely happy with Paul's phase scene. but how exactly do you get into the mindset of a sixteen year old boy who's just transformed into a wolf?**

**answer me that, and I'll be **_**very**_** grateful. XD**

**anywho, reviews would be lovely.**

**the next chapter will be a big'un.**

***H*, out. :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:**** evening chaps! :D how goes it? (:**

**well! I said I'd be updating more regularly, so here you go! :D ENJOYETH! :D**

**Chapter Eight**

**Paul's POV**

It was Lucia, sitting on the curb. I couldn't see her face, because she was sitting hunched over, but I could tell she was crying. And I knew it was because of me. I knew that it was because she had seen me with that girl. I just didn't know I'd had such an effect on her.

"Lucia?" I said, staring down at her.

She didn't answer me. She didn't even look up.

"Lucia, are you alright?"

"Fuck off, Paul," She said, with so much venom in her voice that I didn't dare to argue.

"Sorry," I said, then turned and walked away.

I didn't want to go back to the party. I didn't want to go home. So I walked into the forest across the street, and phased.

**Lucia's POV**

I looked up to see Paul retreating, and wandering off into the trees. I wondered for a moment what he could possibly be doing in there at this time of night, but quickly dismissed it, and stood up. I wiped at my eyes angrily, frustrated that Paul had seen me crying yet again. But before I could walk away, and make my way home, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I whipped around, and raised my hand, thinking Paul had returned. But instead, I found Jared standing next to me, looking quite taken aback.

"Sorry," I muttered, "I thought you were someone else."

"Paul?" He asked, giving me a knowing look.

I sighed. "Maybe," I replied, and let my hand fall back to my side.

"You're really angry at him, huh?"

"Well... Yeah... Wait, how'd you know about us?"

"Kim told me. That, and... Well, you nearly punched me," He said, with a small laugh.

"I'm sorry about that," I muttered.

"Naw, it's cool," Jared replied, "I just wanted to check you were okay."

"Well, thanks."

"And I wanted to tell you something too. Will you sit with me?"

"I guess so," I said, sitting back down on the curb with him.

"Now, look, Lucia, I know you're angry at Paul, but... you should know that this isn't his fault. What's going on with all this, I mean."

He waved a hand around vaguely. I just stared at him, unsure of what to say or do. Jared sighed.

"I'm not explaining this very well... What I want to say is that Paul's dealing with something pretty tough right now. He doesn't know how to handle it. And I'm not saying that's any excuse for him to be treating you how he is, but I just thought you should know that."

"Okay," I said quietly, a little stunned. Jared stood. I followed his lead.

"Because he really does like you, you know," He said, "He likes you _a lot_. He just doesn't know how to show you. And Lucia, he _is_ sorry about what happened at that party a while ago. I know he is."

I nodded mutely, and Jared put his hand on my back.

"Okay," He said with a sigh, "I'd better get going then. I've got to find Kim."

And with that he was gone, leaving me standing alone on the street. I glanced around me, and finding nothing to suggest that I should return to the party, I began the walk home.

I _could not_ stop thinking about what Jared had said to me, as I lay in bed that night. My parents had been asleep by the time I arrived home, so I snuck straight in, washed my face, and then climbed into bed. I had thought I would be exhausted from tonight's happenings, but my mind was racing.

Jared had said that Paul was genuine in his apology. That all this wasn't his fault. But then who was to blame? Things like this didn't just _happen_. People didn't hurt other people for no reason at all. That was something I knew from experience. And after having to deal with various bullies over the years, I wasn't quick to forgive.

But I trusted Jared. I mean, why would he lie to me? He was my best friend's boyfriend for God's sake. And then there was Paul. Who I just couldn't help but like, as much as I didn't want to. That was just it. It couldn't be helped. I _had_ to. It wasn't something I actually had any control over. I just liked him. That was that.

And so before I fell asleep, I resolved that I would talk to Paul next time I saw him. On Monday. That's when I'd do it. I was going to set aside my pride, and apologise. I was going to tell him how I felt.

I didn't see him for a week, and when I did, He wasn't alone. I was in my usual spot, behind the art block. No one was around. Not until I girl walked briskly past, about twenty metres away from me. She rounded a corner, and then was gone.

Less than a minute later, I saw Paul. He was running, along almost the same path as her, pulling his shirt off as he went.

**Paul's POV**

Today was my first day back at school after I had first phased. I was still getting used to all the things that came with being a werewolf, and bursting out of my clothes and into my wolf form when I got angry was one of those things. Jared had said something that made me mad in the cafeteria, and it got me shaking. I knew that when I started shaking, that was bad. It meant I was about to phase. I was still working on controlling that.

So I stormed out of the cafeteria, and I ran for the woods, because I knew I was about to phase. I couldn't let anyone see me. As I ran, I started to pull my shirt off. I didn't want it to get torn to shreds when I phased. If I kept going at the rate I was, I would have no clothes left by the end of the week.

But I stopped in my tracks when I heard an aggravated voice.

"Another one, Paul? Really?" A girl's voice said.

I turned around to say something – probably rude – back to her, when everything just sort of stopped. I just focussed on the girl. Nothing else could have my attention. I didn't know what was happening to me. She sat there, on the ground, leaning against the wall of the art block, a disposable coffee cup in her hand. It was Lucia. She took a sip of her coffee, and then spoke again.

"You meeting someone in there?" She asked.

"No." I said, quickly.

We were both silent for a moment. I stared at her. She was looking down at the grass, fiddling with the lid of her coffee cup. I couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked. Even though she looked sad. For some reason I wanted to comfort her. I wanted to fix whatever problem she was having.

"What's wrong, Lucia?" I asked.

She looked at me, an expression of anger and disbelief on her face.

"You better go, Paul. I don't want to keep your special girl waiting." She said, gesturing towards the forest.

"Um, no, I wasn't... Look, I wasn't going in there to be with a girl." I said, slipping my shirt back on. She looked at me boredly. Dammit, I wanted to make her smile and be happy. She looked so... like she didn't care.

"Whatever."

"What are you doing out here anyway?" I asked.

"What are _you_ doing out here?"

"I asked first."

"Well, what does it look like I'm doing?" She said. She took a sip of her coffee.

"Um..."

"Right. I'm off." She said, and then she stood up and walked away.

"Lucia! Wait!" I called after her.

She slowed her walked, and I saw her shoulders slump.

"I don't want to keep you waiting, Paul." She said quietly. I clenched my jaw momentarily, and then spoke, trying to control the volume of my voice.

"Exactly _where_ _is_ this girl you think I'm meeting, Lucia?"

She turned slowly, to face me. Her eyes were sad.

"She _just_ walked past, Paul."

"I didn't even see her! I'm _not_ meeting a girl, Lucia!"

"Then why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

I opened my mouth, then closed it again, unable to think of how to answer her question. I wanted to tell her what had been happening so badly. I just had the overwhelming urge to be close to her.

"Lucia, look," I said, extending a hand. She recoiled slightly.

I sighed.

"Lucia, I wasn't meeting a girl. I swear. And I want to tell you what's going on. Believe me, I do. But I don't know how to explain yet."

Her eyes softened just the tiniest bit, and she bit her lip.

"I want to believe you, Paul. I really do." She said quietly.

"Then believe me!"

"Paul, it's not that simple! I can't just trust you again. Especially when you can't even tell me what's going on with you."

"It's not my secret to tell, Lucia." I replied.

"It's not your secret, but it's about you?" She said exasperatedly, throwing her hands in the air. "How is that supposed to work?"

"It doesn't just involve me, Lucia!"

She sighed, and looked down.

"Well, when you sort it out, then you come talk to me. I don't need any of this shit."

"What, and you think I do? You think I like what's happening?"

"Well, maybe I could answer that if you would actually tell me what's going on!" She shouted, and then stormed off.

I didn't bother to call after her. I knew she wouldn't stop. I'd sort that out my problems with her later. For now I needed to work out why I was all of a sudden finding Lucia more attractive than ever. And why I wanted to make her believe me about what I was telling her. As I watched her retreat, I regretted ever being with any of those other girls. I should've kept at it with Lucia. She was the one that I wanted.

I let out a sigh. I needed to talk to Sam.

**Sam's POV**

I knew Paul had phased as soon as it happened. His thoughts weren't exactly quiet. All I could hear was him thinking about a girl. I knew what had happened instantly. You didn't think those kinds of things about a girl unless you'd imprinted on them. And Paul sounded confused and angry enough to have imprinted.

"_Sam, I need to talk to you."_ Paul said.

"_I know. I can hear what's going through your mind."_

"_Fuck. Let's phase. I don't want you in my head right now."_

I agreed, and met him in a nearby clearing, both of us in human form.

"What happened to me, man?" Paul asked, straight away, "I just saw her, and... and..."

He sighed, and his shoulders dropped.

"You've imprinted, Paul."

"What?"

"I told you about this that night when you first phased."

"Yeah, I know what it is, I just didn't know it would happen so quickly."

I was silent.

"Are you sure I imprinted?" He asked.

"Well, judging by what I heard a few minutes ago, I'm pretty sure."

He sighed, "It was just like..."

"Pretty incredible, huh?"

He nodded, "She just looked... I don't even know. Just really beautiful. I can't remember ever seeing a girl and thinking she was beautiful. And I don't just mean what she _looks_ like. I mean, have you ever met her? She's incredible man. She's so cool. And..."

I looked at him expectantly, with a smile on my face.

"And... the only thing is... that she doesn't want to talk to me."

"What? Why not? You didn't tell her everything yet, did you?"

"No. As if she'd believe me..." He trailed off.

"Then why won't she talk to you?"

He hesitated, "I did something bad, Sam."

I sighed, "What?"

"Well, a while ago, at this party, this guy dared me to date the first girl I saw back at school the next week. And then, at the next party, I kissed Lucia. And he saw us, and yelled out about the dare. I'd forgotten all about the whole thing, but Lucia wouldn't speak to me after that. And then, you know... all this stuff happened. And she kept seeing me with other girls. Then this morning, I ran out of the cafeteria to phase, and I had my shirt off. She thought I was going after another girl... And when I saw her, I imprinted. There was no other girl today. And I'm regretting all the times when there was."

"Well, maybe you should tell her that."

"If you knew her, then you'd know it wasn't that easy. She's so god damn stubborn."

"Well, then maybe you need to stop going after all these other girls and show Lucia that it's her you want. Show her that you regret the other girls. It won't happen instantly, but if you work at it, she'll come round." I said, trying to reason with him.

I saw the words clicking over in his head. Then he smiled at me, and ran out of the clearing.

**AN:**** Hope you enjoyed that. :D more on the way, leave me a review, make me happy! :D *H***


	9. Chapter 9

**AN:**** UM! SCUSEY! What's with not leaving me any reviews? D:**

**Without them, I am unmotivated, and unhappy when I write. D:**

**So leave me a few, jah? Opinions, ideas, feedback, :D its all good! :D**

**Anyways, ENJOY! :D**

**Chapter Nine**

**Lucia's POV**

Tuesday. The initial shock of being back at school is over. You're back into the swing of things. But still hating it. How _anyone_ manages to enjoy school is a mystery to me. Yes, I have a few friends. Yes, I can hang out with them if I want. But I still never manage to feel fully relaxed when I'm at school. I _always_ feel awkward. Ever since I'd started at this school, there'd never been a moment when I had felt even remotely comfortable. And let me tell you, sitting next to Paul in Spanish class was _far_ from comfortable.

I arrived before he did, to the classroom, and when he entered, his eyes immediately locked onto me. The look he gave me was so intensely happy that I didn't know what to do. I just shifted uncomfortably in my chair, and stared at my hands. I felt him plonk down into his chair next to me a moment later. I braced myself for whatever was coming. I had known, as soon as Paul had walked into the room and given me that look that today was going to be a _very_ interesting day.

"Hey Lucia," Paul said in an uncharacteristically cheery voice. He was usually so gruff and bad tempered.

"Hi Paul," I replied curtly. I looked away from him, my eyes searching for something to focus on that _wasn't_ him. I'll admit it was hard. I _did_ want to look at him. I mean, he was probably the most attractive guy here, so why wouldn't I? And he seemed to have this happy glow about him this morning.

"How was your night?" He asked, trying to make conversation.

Again, I gave him a rudely short answer.

"It was fine," I said, still not looking at him.

It was nearly a minute before he spoke again.

"I did some work on the Spanish project last night," He said. This got my attention.

"Really?" I asked, turning my body towards him slightly. He smiled.

"Really really."

I fought to stop the corners of my mouthing twitching up into a smile. I was _angry_ at Paul. He'd _hurt_ me.

"Well, that's good," I said shortly, and then looked down at my hands again.

Paul paused. "Is something wrong?" He asked hesitantly, sounding genuinely worried.

I sighed, and stood up. I heard him protest, but before I knew it, I found myself walking out of the room. Paul called my name, but I didn't turn around. I was too confused. Why was Paul acting like this all of a sudden? He'd been so standoffish, and now this? This sudden friendliness? It was sort of overwhelming.

I didn't really care that I was skipping class. I knew I might get into trouble for it later, but honestly, I didn't know how I was supposed to sit next to Paul for a whole lesson when so much had happened between us. Furthermore, I couldn't sit next to him when I was feeling so down about the whole situation, while he seemed to be perfectly fine. He was acting like _nothing_ had happened between the two of us.

As I walked down the halls, I swept my hair up into a pony tail. I felt hot. Hot and irritated. There was no way I could have stayed in that class today anyway. I was feeling too restless. With a sigh, I threw open the doors that lead outside, and marched into the grounds. I glanced around me, making sure that no-one had seen me, and when I saw the coast was clear, I started towards the back of the art block.

I sat there for less than a minute. I didn't feel like just sitting and doing nothing. I needed to walk. I needed somewhere that I wouldn't be spotted by teachers too. So, after gazing around for a few seconds, I set my eyes on the surrounding forest. That's where I'd go. No-one would find me there. And I could walk all I liked.

Standing up, I brushed my legs down, and then set off towards the trees. I had nearly made it to them when I heard a distant voice calling my name. I sped up, hoping it wasn't a teacher.

"Lucia, come on!" The voice called again.

I froze. That wasn't the voice of a teacher. That was Paul. And he sounded as if he was getting closer and closer. I breathed out loudly, and walked quickly toward the trees, trying not to look as though I had actually broken into a run.

I was just about to cross the invisible line between the forest and school when a hand closed roughly around my arm. I spun round to face Paul. I was fuming.

"_What_ do you _want_?" I asked loudly.

He released my arm, and I brought it up to my chest, cradling it. I glared at him.

"Well?" I asked again.

"Did I hurt your arm?" Paul asked me, his voice had grown soft. His fingers twitched out towards me.

"It's fine!" I yelled, pulling away from him.

"No. Lucia. I hurt you," He said quietly, and reached for my arm again.

His touch was so gentle. So gentle that I forgot that I was even trying to keep him away from me. I let him pull my arm away from my chest, and he turned it over carefully. Sure enough, there was a faint red mark on my wrist. He ran his thumb over it so lightly that I could barely feel it.

"I'm sorry," He murmured.

"Don't worry about it," I whispered back, looking up at him, "It's just a mark."

He frowned.

"It's lucky I didn't hurt you worse," He said. His fingers released my wrist and slipped down to my hand. He grasped it loosely.

"Paul..." I warned.

He didn't say anything, just looked down at me, straight into my eyes, as he edged closer to me.

He leaned down.

He kissed me.

I let him.

But not for long.

He'd taken me by surprise. His gentle touch had made me weak. It was almost like I'd been temporarily blinded. Or like he had brainwashed me into letting this happen. So when he tried to slip the tongue in, I pulled away sharply.

"What the hell was that?" I said, in a hushed voice.

Paul opened and closed his mouth a few times, obviously unsure of what to say. He looked as confused as I did about all this.

"I don't know what to say to you, Lucia. I don't know how to say what I want to say," He finally said.

"You can't give me even a general _idea_ of what this is all about?"

"Well, shit, Lucia! I like you!" He said loudly, clearly frustrated, "I mean I _really_ like you."

I let out a short laugh, and his eyes narrowed.

"You think this is funny?" He asked.

"_No_! I think this is the most unfunny thing ever. I'm _laughing_, because it's funny that you think you can treat me like you have been, then come and kiss me and think its all fine!"

"Oh, _fuck_! We're back to _that_?"

"What, you just expect me to forget it? I really liked you, Paul. I really did. And then you ruined it."

"No, I didn't! _You_ ruined it, Lucia. You didn't believe me when I told you that I'd forgotten about that stupid dare."

"It's not just that! If you really cared then why would you go off with all those other girls, Paul?" I said, my shoulders dropping.

"Because I was angry at you!"

"So what, that's just what you do when you get angry? You go around with other girls? What if we were to actually _be in _a relationship, Paul? What if I made you angry? Does that mean you'd just go and do the same thing?"

"No! Because that's different! And besides, now… I wouldn't do that to you now."

"What makes _now_ any different to a few weeks ago?"

"Be… because things have changed since then."

"How?"

"They just have, okay?" His eyes darted to the left.

"You're lying," I said.

"Why the fuck would I lie?"

I just stared. I wasn't sure whether to believe him or not.

"I can just tell," I said finally.

I swear I heard him growl. I scowled, took a step away from him and looked down at the ground, trying to avoid eye contact. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his fingers jerk. His hands were shaking. Then his arms started. I looked up at his face, and saw his eyes screw up. His hands balled into fists. He took a step back from me.

Without thinking, I stepped forward.

"No! Lucia, I don't want to hurt you," He growled.

I continued forward, stupidly ignoring his words. He would be perfectly capable of hurting me. But I was already in motion, and my arms had begun to extend towards him. My fingers closed around his forearms, and I felt his muscles tense. He jerked his head up, and his eyes met mine.

He looked _scared_.

And that made me scared.

Slowly, I felt the shaking stop, and his muscles relax.

"You stopped me," He said, his voice full of awe.

"What?" I asked, confused.

He didn't reply.

Instead, directly opposing my wishes, and seriously invading my personal space, he pulled his arms from my grasp, and wrapped them around me, pulling me in for a hug.

"Hey!" I said loudly, struggling against his grip.

I shoved against his chest, and he reluctantly let me go.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked.

"I was just saying thank you," Paul replied, giving me a cheeky grin.

"Hey. Just because we've got this weird, messed up… _'thing'_… going on between us, doesn't mean you can be all flirty."

"So we do have a 'thing' going on," He said, grinning again.

"No! I meant… You know what I mean."

"I know you like me, Lucia."

"No, I don't."

"Deep, deep down."

"No. I hate you. And _that_ is what goes deep, deep down. My hatred for you."

"You don't really hate me."

"Well, maybe not. But I sure as hell don't like you."

"But you used to." He said, a smug smile coming onto his face.

"Yes. Past tense. I _used_ to."

"I'll _bet_ I could make you like me again."

"Maybe you could make a bet with the guy you made the dare with." I suggested, as I glared at him.

The smile was wiped from his face.

"If you don't believe me about that, then I'll prove it to you, Lucia. Because I do like you. And I'm not just going to give up because you won't let me be around you."

He stretched a hand out, and touched my arm. And then he left me standing in the forest.

**AN:**** Well, there you have it! :D**

**Leave me a review, and I'll post you more Paul & Lucia! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:**** So. Sorry I took a while to update. I was struggling to think of where to go next. But its all sorted now. THANKYOU TO MY REVIEWERS. :D WOULD LOVE SOME MORE. :D ENJOY!**

**Chapter Ten**

**Lucia's POV**

"KIM!" I yelled across the school parking lot. I had to catch her before she left to go home. She turned, and looked around her, unsure of where the voice had come from.

"WAIT!" I yelled again. This time she saw me, and a smile came across her face.

"What the hell happened to you in Spanish?" She called back, and then when we were closer she added, "And why did Paul follow you?"

"That's what I need to talk to you about," I said in a hushed voice.

"Why? What happened?" She asked, her tone interested, obviously excited at the prospect of gossip.

"Well, he followed me," I said.

"Uh, yeah. I know _that_. I want to know what _happened_, Lucy!"

"Well, I dunno. I mean, I'm all confused about everything now."

"Just spit it out!"

"Okay, okay!" I said, and then fell silent.

"Well?" Kim almost yelled.

"Well, he kissed me again!"

"_What_?"

"Yeah. He kissed me, and he was saying all this stuff…" I trailed off, remembering. And to my disgust, I had a hard time keeping a smile off my face. He'd been so…

"Lucy!" Kim said loudly, snapping me out of my thoughts, "You've gone all dreamy. What the hell's wrong with you?"

We stared at each other for a moment. Kim's eyes grew wide, and then narrowed.

"You don't actually _like_ him, do you?"

"No, of course not," I said, a little too quickly.

"_Lucy_!"

"I don't!"

"You do! I can tell!" Kim exclaimed loudly.

"Kim," I said firmly, "I _do not_ like Paul."

"Good." She said, and then glanced to her left, at Jared who was making a beeline towards us.

With a frustrated sigh, I turned, crossed the car park, and drove home.

I hadn't been home longer than half an hour when Kim called.

"Girl called Kim on the phone for you, honey!" Mum yelled from downstairs.

I raced out of my room, down the stairs, and screeched to a halt in front of my mum. She smiled, and held out the phone.

"Kim?" I asked, holding the receiver to my ear.

"Hey, Lucy. I just... You're not mad at me, right?"

"Mad? Why would I be mad?" I replied, confused.

"You just walked off. You looked pretty pissed."

"Oh!" I said, realizing what she was talking about, "No. Its fine, Kim. Really."

"Okay," She said, sounding relieved, "Well, I was just checking. Because, you know, I do go on about it a lot."

I laughed, "I know," I replied.

"But I guess it's because it's sort of exciting," Kim continued.

"Exciting?"

"Well, yeah... I mean, how often does your friend get kissed by _Paul_?"

There was a pause.

"I mean, with you it's happened more than once, obviously... But still!" She ranted on.

I laughed again, unsure of what to say.

"But, honestly, Lucy. I was out of line saying that back there. I... Jared..."

"What about Jared?" I said, ears pricking up at the mention of his name. The connection between Paul and Jared seemed strange to me. I mean, I knew they were best friends, but the way Jared has spoken about him at that party the other night was sort of... well, it was weird.

"Well, he and Paul are best friends. And I know Jared wouldn't be hanging around with anyone dodgy. So... I guess what I'm trying to say is that Paul really is a good guy once you get to know him. Yeah, he's a little wild. A little rough around the edges. But... yeah. He's alright, and-"

I cut her off.

"Kim, you're rambling."

"Oh. Right," She said, "Well, I guess what I'm really trying to say is that you should probably give him another chance."

"This coming from the girl who was telling me to pretty much avoid him at all costs a second ago?" I said, incredulously. I really couldn't believe what I was hearing. I wanted to believe her, I really did. And it was hard not to. But I pressed on, trying to block out all this Paul business.

"Lucy, I actually know this guy. A little better than you think. I mean, I've been at school with him for a pretty long time. He's always been pretty... I don't know... He's been with a lot of girls. But trust me when I say, I've never seen him try so hard to get a girl. He must _really_ like you, Lucia."

"Really?" I asked, all of a sudden curious.

"I really, really think so."

"Just because he's so persistent?"

"Like I said: I've _never_ seen him like this with a girl before."

"Well..."

"So tell me honestly: do you like him, or what?"

I sighed, then said hesitantly, "Why don't you just come over, Kim. I don't want people hearing me on the phone."

"Sure!" She said, excitedly, "I'll be there in fifteen!"

"Alright. See you then," I replied, then hung up.

As promised, Kim arrived at the front door about fifteen minutes later, a bag over one shoulder and a packet of chips in hand. She thrust the food into my hands, and stepped through the door.

"So where're we working?" She asked.

"Working?"

"I'll explain in a minute. Lead me to your room!"

I laughed, and took her upstairs, where she dumped her bag on the floor and moved straight over to my wardrobe.

"Uh... what are you doing?" I asked nervously.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" She asked, in an overly cheerful voice, "I'm finding you an outfit for tomorrow!"

"I'm pretty sure I can dress myself," I insisted.

"Lucy. Look at what you're wearing now. Jeans and a white t-shirt? Not gonna work. We need to dress you up."

"What are you dressing me up for, exactly?"

"Uh, Paul? Duh."

"What the fuck, Kim! Why?"

"_Because_, Lucy. You want to get his attention!"

I sighed and dropped onto my bed. I knew Kim meant well, but _really_? So I let her grab handfuls of clothes out of by wardrobe, pick through them, and throw them either onto the floor or into my lap. Besides, when tomorrow came, I didn't have to wear any of this if I didn't want to. She wouldn't be here in the morning to stop me.

She pulled out the skimpiest clothes that I owned, throwing them at me and making remarks about how he wouldn't be able to resist me. I just sat, and laughed at her. To be honest, I was beginning to enjoy myself. I mean, it was all just a bit of fun, right? Eventually I was standing at the wardrobe with her, pulling things out and flinging them across the room, holding them up against myself, against Kim, laughing til I actually cried, having a _really_ good time. I almost felt normal. Like Kim had been my friend for years and years; like we did this every afternoon; like I always vied for the attention of boys; like I enjoyed this.

Like I enjoyed this.

I was enjoying this.

"This is _gorgeous_," Kim said, interrupting my thoughts. She was holding a white cotton dress.

"Oh," Was all I said in reply. She was right. It was gorgeous.

"You've got to wear it, Lucy."

"I... I dunno, Kim."

"Why not? You're going to look fantastic!"

Kim ended up staying for dinner, and I drove her home afterwards. When I arrived back at my house, I went straight upstairs, and into my room. With a sigh, I began picking up all the clothes that had been scattered across the floor and the bed, leaving only the white dress. I folded it and hung it over the back of my desk chair.

Once my room had been returned to its normal state, I had a shower and crawled into bed, exhausted.

I decided to walk to school the next day, since it wasn't raining. In fact, the skies were almost clear. I was up early, since walking would take longer, when I heard a knock on the door downstairs. Remembering that my parents were already at work, and that my brother would still be in bed, I ran down to answer it myself. And when I opened the door, who should be standing on the step, but Kim.

Of course. She'd come to make sure I wore the dress, which I had completely forgotten about. I'd just put on my usual jeans and t-shirt.

Kim clicked her tongue at me, and pushed her way inside.

"I knew you wouldn't wear it. So I decided to come by early to help you get ready." She said, cheerily.

I closed my eyes and steadied myself as she walked up the stairs and towards my room. With a deep breath, I followed her. This was going to be a very interesting day.

She shoved the dress into my hands as soon as I walked into the room.

"Get dressed," She ordered.

I stared at her. Wasn't she even going to leave the room? She stayed exactly where she was.

"Go on," She said, "I'll turn around, if you're uncomfortable."

Reluctantly, I put the dress on, getting into it as slowly as possible. When I was done, I told Kim she could turn around. Her eyes went wide when she did, I hate to say.

"_Lucy_. Paul is going to _love_ it," was all she said, then pushed me into the chair in front of my dressing table and picked up some of my hair.

"Now, what are we going to do with this...?" Kim mused, and then started working her magic.

By the time she was done, I looked totally different. She'd pulled back some of my fringe with a head band, and pulled the sides back, showing off much more of my face than I usually did. She ran a brush over my cheeks, leaving a light pink glow, and then pulled me up from the chair.

"There. Now you're ready," She said proudly.

Just before we left, I grabbed my bag, and as Kim's back was turned, shoved my normal clothes into it. I was just doing up the zip when she turned around again.

"Let's go," I said.

Since she'd taken up the time I would have spent walking, we had to drive to school. Kim chattered away for the whole drive, and then leapt out of the car excitedly. I stayed in the driver's seat, and looked into the rear-view mirror at myself. I didn't look like myself. I looked too... pretty. I wasn't sure that Paul would even recognise me.

Eventually, I dragged myself out of the car, and sighing loudly, walked into school.

I got stared at all day. By guys. By girls. They all whispered. I didn't know whether what they were saying was good or bad, but I sure as hell didn't like it. By lunch, I was sick of it. I walked as quickly as I could to the back of the art block and dumped my bag on the ground. Checking that the area was deserted, I pulled all the pins out of my hair, threw them into my bag, and reached for the hem of my knee-length dress. I pulled it over my head and dropped it in the dirt, not really caring if I ruined it or not.

I put on my jeans first, and had my shirt in my hands when I froze.

Paul had just rounded the corner. He stopped, and his mouth opened a little, as if he was about to speak. His eyes shifted from me, to the dress on the ground, and then back. Then, without saying a word, he went back around the corner.

I blinked a few times, trying to process what had just happened. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts, pulled my shirt over my head, and walked in the direction that Paul had. I left my bag and the dress on the ground. I found Paul leaning against the side of the art block. He looked at his feet when I approached. I let out a sigh and leant against the wall next to him, trying to seem confident.

"I'm really sorry," He said.

"Forget about it."

He looked at me and grinned.

"That'd be sort of hard to do," He said, and I actually had to suppress a laugh.

"Enjoyed the show then?" I asked, smirking.

He let out a small chuckle, and turned to me.

"How could I not?" He asked.

I looked at my feet and smiled. I didn't know whether Paul was trying to make me feel better on purpose, but it was almost as if he was reversing the effects of all those whispers and stares from earlier.

There was silence for a few moments, before I spoke again.

"Thanks for... you know. Not..." I mumbled.

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

More silence.

"Well, thanks," I said, again.

"Forget about it," He said, and gave me a smile.

He was just leaning his head towards mine, and I was actually _letting_ him, when a loud voice came over the PA system.

"Lucia Wheatley and Paul MacAlister to the main office, please. Lucia Wheatley and Paul MacAlister."

**AN:**** So, yeah. Watcha think? Let me know with a review, yeah? I decided Kim should be more encouraging of Lucia and Paul, so yeah. (: REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! :D**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

**Lucia's POV**

'Fuck,' Paul said under his breath, and stepped away from me. He grimaced.

'I guess we better go then,' I said, rolling my eyes.

Paul stared at me, and a slow smile came across his face.

'Or... you know... we could...' He trailed off.

'Leave?' I said, raising my eyebrows.

He grinned at me, and I found myself grinning back.

"Follow me," Paul said, and grabbed my hand.

I found myself not even _trying_ to resist his touch. It almost felt natural. Like I didn't mind his hand being there. Comfortable, even. He pulled across the grass, right into the trees of the forest, then ran at a line parallel to them, until we reached the student car park. We emerged from the trees panting, and I imagined that anyone who had seen us would not have thought our actions as innocent as they were.

'Where's your car parked?' Paul asked.

Without speaking, and without letting go of his hand, I lead him to my car. I got into the drivers side, and he the passengers, and we drove away.

Neither of us said a word until I had pulled up on the side of the road at the top of the cliffs at the beach. Slowly, I reached for the keys and turned them, switching off the engine. I turned to look at Paul, and let out a shaky laugh. He grinned at me.

'How much shit did we just get ourselves into?' I asked, with a smile.

'A _shitload_,' Paul replied. I laughed.

'Well... wanna go for a walk?' I asked, pocketing my keys.

'Sure,' Paul shrugged, and got out of the car. I followed, locked the doors, and then walked to the edge of the cliffs, Paul by my side.

'You ever been cliff diving, Lucia?' He asked me, after a moment of watching the waves crash and froth below.

I laughed incredulously, and then seeing he was serious, bit my lip in an attempt to stop.

'Never,' I said.

'Why not?'

'Uh, because who jumps off cliffs?'

'I do,' He said simply, and gave a small shrug of his shoulders.

I didn't say anything; just looked at him, and then back down to the waves.

'I could take you,' Paul offered, after a moment.

'Are you kidding?'

'No.'

'Paul... I don't thi-'

'Lucia, come on. Everybody does it here.'

'That's what we call peer pressure, Paul.'

'Fine,' He said, 'I'll go, and you can stay here. And then we'll see whether you can resist the thrill or not.'

'Fine,' I replied.

I stepped back from the cliff, and found a log to sit on while Paul removed his shirt. I had seen him without a shirt only once before and I was a little distracted, so I didn't remember any details. This time, when I had nothing to focus on but him, I was stunned. His chest and shoulders were broad and strong, and his stomach was flat, except for the ripples were his muscles obviously were. I looked away for a moment, conscious of my staring. I gazed down at the ground, and then, deciding it would be safe to just have _one_ more glance, peeked up at him from under my fringe.

And he caught be staring.

Of course he did.

I stared back, thinking that _maybe_, just _maybe_ I could pass it off as an innocent look, and made myself look as bored as possible.

'Are you nearly ready to go yet?' I asked.

'Yep,' He said, clapping his hands together, 'I'll walk back up to the top when I'm done.'

And with that, he was gone, over the edge of the cliff.

My heart started racing. What if he'd hurt himself somehow, on the way down? Surely you couldn't just jump over the edge of a cliff without sustaining any injuries. I stood, took a deep breath, and approached the edge. As I looked over, I saw his head break the surface. I drew back from the edge and took a few hasty steps back. Glancing around me, I decided that it would be best not to look concerned when Paul returned. I needed to look as indifferent as possible about all this cliff diving business. With a sigh, I walked back to my car and climbed in behind the wheel, resting my head on the window. Paul made it look so easy. And that made me feel like I really was just overreacting. I was being a wuss. Anyone else would have just jumped off the stupid cliff. I wound the window down, letting some air in to cool my hot face.

In a ridiculously short amount of time, Paul had gotten back up to the top of the cliffs, and was striding over to my side of the car. Glistening wet, he poked his head through the window. Droplets of water rolled down his nose and fell onto my skin. I dragged my eyes away from his shining chest.

'Have fun?' I asked.

'_Heaps_ of fun,' He said, with a superior grin, 'You sure you're not coming down the second time.'

'Absolutely sure,' I replied.

'Fine,' He said, and walked away from the car, but before he was out of earshot he added, 'Chicken.' Then he ran and jumped off the edge.

'Fuck,' I muttered, and drummed my fingers on the steering wheel. I should have just driven away and left him here. But no. Instead of sticking to my guns, I got out of the car and slammed the door behind me. I pulled off my jeans, knowing they would only hinder me and shoved them through the window. I approached the cliff shivering, wearing only my white t-shirt and my underwear.

I folded my arms and let out a sigh, pacing a few steps back and forth. I didn't _have_ to do this... But I could. There was actually _no_ reason I could think of that meant that I physically or mentally _could not_ jump of this stupid cliff. So, taking a deep breath, I took a few steps back, then ran and hurled myself over the edge.

The sound was incredible. So loud, the sound of the wind around me, and the waves below. But not me screaming. I couldn't scream. I was too scared. Too scared to scream. Too scared to move. So when I hit the water, I just sank.

The next thing I remember was something hot hitting me and pulling me through the water at a fast pace. My eyes were closed the whole time, still paralysed with fear. My mouth was open though, and water leaked down my throat, into my lungs. I coughed, letting more water in, and then I lost consciousness again.

I was being dragged up the beach; out of the water, and onto the sand. But not far enough to keep the water away from my feet. I could still feel the water lapping against my toes. The hot thing from before, which I now registered as being a human being pushed hair out of my face using its hands, and then felt my neck, presumably for a pulse. The fingers felt strong, but a little shaky. Panicked.

Then there was pressure on my chest. Over and over again, a force pressing against my chest. I coughed, and water spilled out of my mouth. My eyes fluttered open for a moment and I saw Paul's worried face swimming above mine. With one last cough, my eyes closed again.

'No,' Paul whispered, 'Come on, Lu. Please. Lu, _please_ wake up.'

His shaking fingers touched my cheeks, and ran over my face. They opened my mouth, and then I heard a sigh before a pair of hot, wet lips closed over mine. He blew air into my mouth, and I found my hands reaching for his chest pushing him away. My eyes flew open as I coughed again, and more water came out of my mouth.

Paul looked down at me incredulously, and then he fell back so he was sitting next to me and let out a sigh.

'I thought you were dead!' He whispered, 'I thought I wasn't going to be able to bring you back.'

I stretched out a hand and closed my fingers around his wrist.

'What'd you call me, Paul?' I asked in a hoarse voice.

'What?'

'You called me something.'

'When?'

'I could hear you. You told me to wake up.'

'I said your name,' He said, clearly confused.

'You called me Lu.' I whispered.

He sighed and grasped my hand.

'Yeah, I guess I did,' He replied.

I rolled onto my side and held his hand tighter.

'I'm sorry I made you jump,' Paul murmured.

'Its okay,' I answered, 'We're fine.'

**AN: Hello readers! :D And thankyou for reading, :D what would just absolutely MAKE MY DAY is if you would kindly review this chapter, give me feedback, ideas, opinions, its all welcome! Thankyou to those who did review my last chapter, and for those who put the story on alert. Hope you enjoyed. (:**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

**Lucia's POV**

'I'm carrying you,' Paul insisted, as we stood before the cliff.

'The hell you are,' I scoffed, and started towards the narrow pathway.

'Lu, I really-'

'Paul! I'm walking.'

'Fine,' he said, raising his hands in defeat, but then placed one on my back, 'But I'm helping you.'

Slowly Paul helped me up the steep climb. But about halfway up, I was losing my breath.

'I just need to sit down for a minute,' I said, leaning against the rock face. I slowly slid so that I was crouching on the ground. I rested my head on my knees. Paul crouched next to me and I looked up.

'I'm fine, before you even ask,' I said.

He gave a half-hearted chuckle, and pushed back some of the wet hair on my face.

'I'm carrying you,' he said.

'No. You're not,' I said, and tried to get to my feet. My legs shook and I leant heavily against the cliff's side for support. Paul frowned, and reached out for me.

'I'm carrying you,' he said again. I sighed in resignation.

'Fine,' I said, 'But none of that bridle-style shit.'

This time Paul laughed loudly.

'Climb onto my back then,' he said, grinning widely.

Sighing for a second time, I wrapped my arms around his neck, and Paul hoisted me up onto his back. His hands were warm on the backs of my legs.

I rested my chin on his shoulders and faced into his neck so that I wouldn't look over the edge of the cliff while we ascended. I could hear his steady breath underneath his warm, damp skin, and I wondered how it was that he wasn't even puffing. He was walking up a cliff with a nearly sixty kilo weight on his back, for Christ's sake.

'Aren't you tired?' I whispered.

'Why would I be tired?'

'Because you're lugging a whole other _person_ up a cliff.'

'You're light,' he replied simply. And that was all I heard about that for the rest of the walk.

I think I even drifted to sleep for a few minutes, lulled by the rhythmic bouncing of Paul's steps. When I opened my eyes again, all I could see was the skin of his neck, but after raising my head just the slightest bit, I saw that we were approaching the car. He set me down, on the passenger's side, and opened the door.

'You think you're going to drive my car?' I asked, incredulously.

'Well, you're sure as hell not,' he retorted.

'Paul! I told you, I'm fine!'

'Oh, okay, okay, you expect be to believe you're _fine_ after you practically collapse walking back up here? You're not driving. Get in the back.'

'Make me,' I responded, childishly.

'Fine.'

Like a doll, he picked me up, one hand under the backs of my knees, and the other supporting my back. I struggled, of course, but I was no match for him. All too easily, he put me into the car, so that I was lying across the back seat. To my surprise, he wasn't rough. In fact, he was very gentle with me; like he was afraid I might break. He hovered over me, and I stared up at him. And before I knew what was happening, his mouth was on mine.

I'd always thought that getting up to any sort of mischief in the back seat of a car would be uncomfortable, but I felt strangely at ease. I could feel his body pressed against mine, as one hand travelled to my hip, and the other tangled itself into my dripping hair, supporting my head. Both our skin was still damp, and Paul's lips were hot on mine. He pulled away for a moment, and looked down at me with such an incredible intensity that I pulled his face back down to mine myself. One arm was wrapped around his neck, and the other was placed firmly on his bare back, pulling him closer to me. Slowly, the hand that rested on my hip travelled down to the top of my thigh. His fingers curled around my leg. I gasped and pulled my mouth away from his.

'Paul,' I breathed.

'What? Did I do something wrong? I'm so sorry,' he said quickly, and drew back, looking guilty.

'No,' I said, breathing hard, 'It's just... What are we doing?'

'I dunno,' he said, bringing a hand to his head. He ran it through his hair. 'I'm sorry.'

'No, don't be sorry,' I said, pulling myself into a sitting position. Paul leant back against the seat next to me. And then before I could stop myself, I murmured, 'It was _good_.'

I felt the skin of my cheeks darken almost as soon as I realised what I had just said. I'd practically just admitted to Paul, _and to myself_, that I might have feelings for him.

'Oh God,' I whispered. But before I could get anything else out, Paul's mouth was back on mine; only for a second, and only very gently, very lightly. But it was still there. It was definitely the sweetest, most innocent kiss I've ever had, and probably one of the best.

'I think I might believe you about that dare now,' I whispered, as he pulled away and smiled down at me.

'Huh?' He asked, clearly confused.

'Exactly,' I said, with a smile, as I leant into his side.

**AN:**** Keepin' it short and sweet this time. (: So sling us a review and let us know what you think, yeah? :D**

**Also, if any of you lovely readers are a bit keen on the Hunger Games series, I've got a story going for that too. its called The Other Mockingjay. Check it out dudes! :D**


	13. READ ME AND WEEP

Good day to you, readers!

I have a tiny, awkward little confession to make to you…

The truth is… now that I'm not, you know, like, 13 years old anymore, I sort of… well, hate Twilight. Okay, maybe I don't hate it. That's not the right word. I've just grown out of it. Sorry to disappoint or whatever…

But good news! I finished most of the Twilight stories I wrote on here, and still sort of love them for their characters and plots, so that's good. Bad news, I doubt I'll be writing sequels / finishing any of the incomplete ones. And some more good news! I'm over my yearlong writer's block. I think. So perhaps I'll get back into this… just writing for different stories!

Anyways, please don't hate on me. (:

h.


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